Knights of Columbus announce Novena to St. Joseph for Pope's 10th anniversary

By Vatican News staff writer

The Knights of Columbus have announced a special nine-day prayer initiative to Saint Joseph for Pope Francis in view of the tenth year anniversary of his pontificate. The Novena will start on Sunday, 12 March, and conclude on Monday, 20 March, the day when the Solemnity of Saint Joseph has been transferred, since the traditional date of the Feast on 19 March falls on a Sunday of Lent this year. 

The novena aims to offer the Church's prayerful support for Pope Francis' pastoral ministry as March 13th will mark ten years since his election as Pope and March 19th the ten year anniversary of his installation. 

Daily prayers

The novena invites the faithful to reflect each day on a short prayer from Pope Francis, to offer a decade of the rosary, and to conclude with a prayer for Pope Francis written by the Supreme Chaplain of the Knights of Columbus, Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore, USA. The daily reflection prayers consist of excerpts drawn from Pope Francis’ series of catecheses on Saint Joseph given during his General Audiences in late 2021 and early 2022.

Litany of St. Joseph

The novena concludes on 20 March with the Litany of St. Joseph to which Pope Francis added seven new invocations on 1 May 2021.

Those who wish to take part in the novena can also sign up online to receive daily reminders with the prayers, just go to: kofc.org/stjoseph.

Congratulations and prayers

The Head of the Knights of Columbus, Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly, has expressed his gratitude and congratulations to Pope Francis as we celebrate this decade of pastoral service and leadership, saying in a press release that, “In the name of the 2 million Knights of Columbus around the world, I thank and congratulate Pope Francis as he marks his 10th anniversary as Bishop of Rome and spiritual leader of the Catholic Church.”

The Supreme Knight adds that “every time I’ve been blessed to meet Pope Francis, he has asked that we pray for him," saying that “I know that I pray for him every day, and I call upon my brother Knights in every nation to pray with me for Pope Francis in a special way on the occasion of his anniversary.”