Novena to Saint Gemma Galgani – 9 Days of Prayer

A nine-day novena to Saint Gemma Galgani (1878–1903), the young Italian mystic who bore the stigmata and was consumed by love for Christ crucified — patron of students, the poor, and those suffering from back pain or illness.

St. Gemma Galgani was a young Italian woman of Lucca who is said to have borne the stigmata and offered her suffering for sinners. She died in 1903, aged twenty-five. This novena asks for her prayers for those who suffer, particularly young people. Her feast is April 11. Her life was short and hidden, marked by illness and prayer. She died at twenty-five and was canonised in 1940. Pray the novena for the sick, for young people burdened by suffering and for those who feel misunderstood.

Saint Gemma Galgani · April 119 dayssaint

A novena is nine consecutive days of prayer. Begin nine days before the feast (April 11) and finish on its eve. You can pray this novena at any time of year.

Pray this novena with daily reminders in the Sacred Novenas app

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Novena to Saint Gemma Galgani – prayer for all nine days

Intention: For Those Who Suffer Without Explanation, for Students, and for the Grace to Unite Our Pain to Christ's

Saint Gemma, you who suffered so much so young — illness, grief, poverty, mystical darkness — and who found in the wounds of Christ not an escape from suffering but a reason to embrace it: pray for us. Help us to see our own crosses as you saw yours: not as punishment, but as participation. Not as abandonment, but as intimacy. Amen.

Saint Gemma Galgani,
you were not yet twenty when the wounds of Christ
appeared on your hands, your feet, your side.
Not as a reward — but as a gift.
Not to show you off — but to draw you in.

You bore what most of us would flee.
And in bearing it, you became radiant.

We come to you with our pain.
Some of us are sick in body.
Some of us are sick in spirit.
Some of us are carrying a grief that has no name.
Some of us are just very tired.

Gemma, you understand all of it.
You were not spared any of it.
And yet your letters are full of joy —
because you found Jesus in the middle of it,
not waiting on the other side.

Pray for us, Saint Gemma.
Pray that we might stop fighting our suffering long enough
to let it become something.
Pray that the love of Christ might be so real to us
that even our hardest days feel like closeness to Him.

And pray especially for the sick,
for students under pressure,
for those who feel abandoned by God
in the middle of their suffering.

Tell them what you told your spiritual director:
'Jesus is always with me. He never leaves.'

Amen.
Hail Mary... Our Father... Glory Be...

Saint Gemma Galgani, pray for us.

Pray this prayer once a day for nine days in a row.

Traditional Catholic Devotional Prayer · Feast Day: April 11. Gemma Galgani (1878-1903) was an Italian mystic who experienced the stigmata, ecstasies, and mystical trials at an early age. Orphaned at seventeen, she suffered chronic illness and poverty but united all to the Passion of Christ. She died at age 25. Canonized 1940 by Pope Pius XII.

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Frequently asked questions

When should I start the Novena to Saint Gemma Galgani?

Begin on April 2 to end on April 10, the eve of the feast on April 11.

How do I pray the Novena to Saint Gemma Galgani?

Pray the daily prayer once a day, and offer a small sacrifice.

Who is the Novena to Saint Gemma Galgani for?

It is for the sick, young people and those who suffer in silence.

Pray this novena with daily reminders in the Sacred Novenas app

Open in the app App Store Google Play