“Novena,” derived from the Latin word “novem” meaning “nine”, was first imagined as the nine days the Apostles and disciples spent between the Ascension of the Lord and the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. As the centuries passed, novenas developed as any nine days of prayer dedicated to a single subject or saint. 

This novena is based on scripture readings, Hecker quotes, and a variety of prayers. Novena to the Holy Spirit: Toward a More Perfect Union gives Paulists, Paulist Associates, and Paulist Deacon Affiliates along with all Paulist collaborators and members of their worshipping communities another occasion to pray in one accord.

The intention of this novena is for us to pray that the Holy Spirit unites us in faith, hope, and love and simultaneously moves us to delight in diversity as a gift from God. We look to discern how we might heal the wounds caused by polarization in society and work toward fashioning a “more perfect union.” 

• Download the Novena to the Holy Spirit as a PDF

• Fr. Hecker and his companions founded the Paulist Fathers in 1858. To learn more about his life and his cause for canonization, please visit paulist.org/hecker.

• We’ll be praying this novena at the Hecker Symposium on May 19, 2023 in New York City. The themes of the novena––unity, dialogue, and understanding––are at the heart of the Paulist mission and will be a central topic at the symposium.