St. Gerard Majella Annual Novena
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The Solemn Novena to St. Gerard Majella is held over 9 days in St. Joseph's
Redemptorist The Redemptorists officially named the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer ( la, links=no, Congregatio Sanctissimi Redemptoris), abbreviated CSsR,is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of pontifical right for men (priests and brother ...
Church,
Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ga, Dún Dealgan ), meaning "the fort of Dealgan", is the county town (the administrative centre) of County Louth, Ireland. The town is on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the east coast of Ireland. It is h ...
, Ireland. It runs from 8 to 16 October.


About St. Gerard Majella

Gerard was born as Gerardo Majella on 9 April 1726"The Mothers' Saint", Redemptorists, Denver Province
in
Muro Lucano Muro Lucano formerly Muro (until 1863) is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Potenza, in the northern part of the region of Basilicata, southern Italy. History The city is situated on the site of the ancient Numistri, at the foot of the A ...
, Italy. He was the son of a tailor who died when Gerard was 12, leaving the family in poverty. Gerard tried to join the
Capuchin order The Order of Friars Minor Capuchin (; postnominal abbr. O.F.M. Cap.) is a religious order of Franciscan friars within the Catholic Church, one of Three " First Orders" that reformed from the Franciscan Friars Minor Observant (OFM Obs., now OFM) ...
, but his health prevented it. He was accepted as a
Redemptorist The Redemptorists officially named the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer ( la, links=no, Congregatio Sanctissimi Redemptoris), abbreviated CSsR,is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of pontifical right for men (priests and brother ...
lay brother serving his congregation as sacristan, gardener,
ostiarius An ostiarius, a Latin word sometimes anglicized as ostiary but often literally translated as porter or doorman, originally was a servant or guard posted at the entrance of a building. See also gatekeeper. In the Roman Catholic Church, this "por ...
, infirmarian, and tailor. He was a man of great depth, insight, prayer and kindness. Unfortunately his health was never good. He died on 16 October 1755, at 29 years of age. Gerard was beatified on 29 January 1893 by
Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-old ...
, and was canonised on 11 December 1904 by
Pope Pius X Pope Pius X ( it, Pio X; born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto; 2 June 1835 – 20 August 1914) was head of the Catholic Church from 4 August 1903 to his death in August 1914. Pius X is known for vigorously opposing modernist interpretations of C ...
. The feast day of
Saint Gerard Majella Gerard Majella (; 6 April 1726 – 16 October 1755) was an Italian lay brother of the Congregation of the Redeemer, better known as the Redemptorists, who is honored as a saint by the Catholic Church. His intercession is sought for children, ...
is 16 October. He is a
saint In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...
whose intercession is requested for children (and unborn children in particular); childbirth; mothers (and expectant mothers in particular); motherhood; falsely accused people; good confessions; lay brothers; and Muro Lucano, Italy. He was featured on an Italian 45-euro postage stamp in May 2005.


The Redemptorists Annual Nine Day Novena


History

St. Joseph's Parish Church,a
Redemptorist The Redemptorists officially named the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer ( la, links=no, Congregatio Sanctissimi Redemptoris), abbreviated CSsR,is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of pontifical right for men (priests and brother ...
House in
Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ga, Dún Dealgan ), meaning "the fort of Dealgan", is the county town (the administrative centre) of County Louth, Ireland. The town is on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the east coast of Ireland. It is h ...
, welcomes thousands of people from all over Ireland to the Annual Festival of Faith in Honour of St. Gerard Majella. It's the biggest festival of faith in Ireland with an average of 10,000 attending on a daily basis."St. Gerard's Novena special broadcast", ''The Argus'', 22 December 2010
/ref> After Bro. Gerard's Beatification in 1893, a
triduum A triduum (plural: ''tridua'') is a religious observance lasting three days. Major tridua The best-known and most significant example today is the liturgical Paschal Triduum (the three days from the evening of Maundy Thursday to Easter Sunday). ...
in his honour was preached in St. Joseph's by Fr. Hall, widely regarded as one of the greatest preachers of his day. The people of Dundalk took St. Gerard into their hearts after this sermon and continued to pay devotion to him on a regular basis. During the 1930s, Fr. John Murray, started the Annual Nine Day Novena to St. Gerard Majella, beginning on 8 October and finishing on his feast day, 16 October. Fr. Hugo Kerr erected a shrine to St. Gerard in the church in 1939. Today the Novena continues to grow with over 10,000 people attending the Novena on a daily basis. One memorable event of the Novena from years past was the trumpet players that performed at each of the sessions on the last day of the Novena.


Tradition

St. Gerard's Novena has become a lifelong tradition for many people. The annual novena sees more than 10,000 people from across the Dundalk area, and from counties Down, Armagh, Cavan, Monaghan, and Meath make the daily journey to the Redemptorist Church. As St. Gerard Majella is patron of expecting mothers, the novena is also a yearly pilgrimage for many women and couples hoping to welcome children into the lives. According to Novena Director Father Michael Cusack C.Ss.R., "This novena is always a time of great solidarity and really ignites the community spirit in the people of Dundalk and the surrounding counties, towns and villages." The Novena consists of 10 sessions a day, with the first session starting at 7am, running all day until the last session at 10pm, when the mass is conducted by candlelight. Prayers and Petitions are offered up daily by members of the public and are read out during each session. Due to the increasing numbers attending the Novena each year extra seating is added to the hallways, monastery rooms, side altars and the parish hall, where each session is shown live on large television screens. The last days of the Novena also see an increase in attendance as those who are unable to make it throughout the Novena usually attend the last three days.


Highlights of the Novena

* Communal Celebration of the Sacrament of Reconciliation (usually on the 5th Day) * Healing Mass with the Anointing of the Sick and the Elderly (held on the Saturday) * The Blessing of Babies (2.30 pm service held on the Sunday) * The Novena of All Nations (4.30pm on the Sunday) * Taizé Mass – Candlelight Session. Nightly at 10.30pm * Guest Speaker – lay people sharing their experience of life situations.


Prayer to St. Gerard Majella

Almighty and Eternal God, we thank you for the gift of St. Gerard and the example of his life. Because St. Gerard always had complete faith and trust in you, you blessed him with great powers of help and healing. Through him, you showed your loving concern for all those who suffered or were in need. You never failed to hear his prayer on their behalf. Today, through St. Gerard's powerful intercession, you continue to show your love for all those who place their trust in you. And so, Father, full of faith and confidence, and in thanksgiving for all the wonderful things you have done for us, we place ourselves before you today. Through the intercession of St. Gerard, hear our petitions, and if it is your holy will, grant them. Amen.


Hymn to St. Gerard Majella

From Earth's Sorrow

From earth's sorrow, from life's tearland,
High above the clouds we gaze,
Where enthroned in starlike glory,
Reigns today the saint we praise.

''Refrain''
:Saintly Gerard, Blessed Brother,
:Thou whose heart did burn with love divine,
:Friend of Jesus, child of Mary,
:Make, O make our sinful hearts like thine.

Humble Gerard, lowly workman,
Patron Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...
of the hearts that toil,
Bless this bleak earth's
myriad A myriad (from Ancient Greek grc, μυριάς, translit=myrias, label=none) is technically the number 10,000 (ten thousand); in that sense, the term is used in English almost exclusively for literal translations from Greek, Latin or Sinospher ...
toilers,
Lift their thoughts above earth's soil.
To mark St. Gerard's Novena, the Novena prayers are also offered at Mass each day at the Dundalk Institute of Technology by the Chaplain's Office."St. Gerard Majella's Novena" Dundalk Institute of Technology


Notes


External links

* https://web.archive.org/web/20071108232520/http://www.saintlucy.net/saintgerard.htm National Shrine of St Gerard *
The Dundalk Redemptorists Website

Dublin Province

The Redemptorists Irish Publications


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