Nov 30 – Dec 24, 2026 · 25 days · 15 times a day
The St Andrew Christmas Novena
A single short prayer, said fifteen times a day from the feast of St Andrew on Monday, November 30, 2026 until Christmas Eve, Thursday, December 24. It asks God to hear your prayer for the sake of the hour of Christ's birth.
The prayer
Traditional text, public domain (printed with an 1897 imprimatur).
How to pray it
- Choose your intention on November 30. Keep it to yourself or write it down.
- Say the prayer fifteen times each day. Spread them out — five at breakfast, five at lunch, five at bedtime — or say all fifteen at once.
- To keep count on a rosary, say it once on each of the five beads of the pendant and once on each of the ten beads of one decade: fifteen.
- Continue every day until Christmas Eve — 375 prayers in all.
The 2026 novena, day by day
| Mon Nov 30 | Day 1 | Day 1 — the feast of St Andrew, apostle |
| Sun Dec 6 | Day 7 | Second Sunday of Advent |
| Tue Dec 8 | Day 9 | The Immaculate Conception (holy day of obligation) |
| Sat Dec 12 | Day 13 | Our Lady of Guadalupe |
| Sun Dec 13 | Day 14 | Gaudete Sunday |
| Thu Dec 17 | Day 18 | The O Antiphons begin |
| Thu Dec 24 | Day 25 | Day 25 — Christmas Eve, the last day |
It overlaps two nine-day novenas: the Immaculate Conception (Nov 29–Dec 7) and Our Lady of Guadalupe (Dec 3–11). See every novena's dates, with a calendar file you can subscribe to.
Who was St Andrew?
The apostle Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was a fisherman of Bethsaida and a disciple of John the Baptist before he followed Jesus. The Gospel of John remembers him as the first to be called — and the first thing he did was find his brother and bring him to Christ. Tradition holds that he was crucified at Patras in Greece on an X-shaped cross, which is why that shape is called a saltire, or St Andrew's cross. More about St Andrew →
St Andrew novena questions
When does the St Andrew Christmas Novena start in 2026?
On Monday, November 30, 2026, the feast of St Andrew, and it ends on Thursday, December 24, Christmas Eve — 25 days.
How many times a day do you pray the St Andrew novena?
Fifteen times each day. They need not be said all at once: five in the morning, five at midday and five at night works well.
Why is it called the St Andrew novena if it is not prayed to St Andrew?
Because it begins on his feast day. The prayer itself is addressed to God, recalling the hour of Christ's birth. Nor is it strictly a novena, which means nine days — the name is used loosely.
What if I miss a day?
It is a private devotion, not an obligation, so nothing is lost: carry on the next day. Some people make up the missed prayers; either is fine.
Where does the prayer come from?
Its author is unknown. Printed copies circulating since the late nineteenth century carry an imprimatur from the Archdiocese of New York dated 1897, which is why the text is in the public domain and can be given here in full.
Can I pray it for more than one intention?
Yes. Many people keep one main intention for the whole novena, but you may pray for several, or for a different person each day.
Keep count with daily prayer reminders in the app — and pray the Rosary, the Hours and the readings of every day of Advent.
