Easter Novena (9 Days of Prayer from Good Friday to Divine Mercy Sunday)
Easter is the heart of the Christian faith — and the nine days that follow Good Friday are among the most spiritually powerful of the entire year. If you have ever longed to carry the grace of Easter beyond Sunday morning, this novena was made for you. Prayed from Good Friday through the Saturday before Divine Mercy Sunday, it unites the resurrection of Christ with His boundless mercy — a promise for every soul willing to ask.
This novena is deeply connected to the Easter Octave, the eight days in which the Church celebrates the Resurrection as one continuous solemnity. By praying these nine days, you remain spiritually united to the liturgy of the Church while preparing your heart for Divine Mercy Sunday.
The Origin of the Easter Novena
The Easter Novena is rooted in one of the oldest traditions of Christian prayer: the original novena itself. After the Ascension, the Apostles and Mary gathered in the Upper Room for nine days of continuous prayer, waiting for the Holy Spirit — the first novena in history. The Easter Novena draws from that same apostolic spirit, directing those nine days toward the mystery of the Resurrection.
The specific structure of praying from Good Friday to the eve of Divine Mercy Sunday gained renewed meaning in the 20th century through the revelations of Saint Faustina Kowalska. In her diary, Jesus asked that a novena begin on Good Friday, offering a soul each day to the mercy of His Father. The Easter Novena and the Divine Mercy Novena thus share the same sacred window — making these nine days a double invitation: to celebrate the risen Christ and to receive His mercy.
Graces Received Through This Novena
Many faithful who pray during these nine days experience a renewed sense of hope, peace, and trust in God’s mercy. The grace of the Resurrection is not only something we remember — it is something we are invited to receive personally.
Why Pray This Novena?
The nine days from Good Friday to the eve of Divine Mercy Sunday are not ordinary days. The Church presents these days as a time of extraordinary grace — and these are the intentions this novena is most naturally prayed for:
- Spiritual renewal after a difficult season — Lent can leave us tired or dry. This novena opens us to the joy of the Resurrection as a personal experience, not just a liturgical event.
- Healing — physical, emotional, or relational — The risen Christ appeared to the disciples not in triumph but in tenderness. This is a powerful novena for those carrying wounds that haven’t healed.
- Conversion of a loved one — Jesus told Saint Faustina that during this novena He would grant souls “all possible graces.” Pray it boldly for someone you love who has drifted from faith.
- Preparation for Divine Mercy Sunday — The graces available on Divine Mercy Sunday are extraordinary. This novena is the nine-day preparation that opens the soul to receive them fully.
How to Pray the Novena
When: Begin on Good Friday, April 3, 2026. Pray one day each day through Saturday, April 11. Divine Mercy Sunday falls on April 12, 2026.
How:
- Find a quiet moment — morning is ideal, but any time works.
- Begin with the Sign of the Cross.
- Pray the day’s prayer slowly, with intention.
- Close with five Our Fathers, five Hail Marys, and five Glory Bes — as the traditional form suggests.
- If time permits, add three Hail Marys or a decade of the Rosary.
- Pray each prayer slowly and attentively, with devotion and faith.
You can pray this novena alone, with your family, or as part of a parish group. Many Catholics combine it with the Divine Mercy Chaplet prayed at 3:00 PM — the Hour of Mercy.
You may also pray a simpler version of this devotion here → Easter Novena Prayer (simple 9-day devotion)
Novena Prayers — Day by Day
Each day’s prayer is the official Collect from the Roman Missal for that day of the Easter Octave. Follow it with five Our Fathers, five Hail Marys, and five Glory Be prayers — or, if time permits, a decade of the Rosary.
Day 1 — Good Friday, April 3
Traditional opening prayer — from the Raccolta, the Church’s official collection of indulgenced prayers:
O Divine Savior, who rose from the dead on that first glorious Easter morn, grant that I may rise from my sins and so live as to see You, glorious and immortal, in heaven. Lord, I am nothing, but, although nothing, I adore You.
Five Our Fathers, five Hail Marys, and five Glory Be prayers.
Day 2 — Holy Saturday, April 4
Collect for Holy Saturday — Roman Missal:
O God, who for the salvation of the world brought about the paschal sacrifice, be favorable to the supplications of your people, so that Christ our High Priest, interceding on our behalf, may by his likeness to ourselves bring us reconciliation, and by his equality with you free us from our sins. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Five Our Fathers, five Hail Marys, and five Glory Be prayers.
[⬅ AdSense block — place between Day 2 and Day 3]
Day 3 — Easter Sunday, April 5
Collect for Easter Sunday — Roman Missal:
O God, who on this day, through your Only Begotten Son, have conquered death and unlocked for us the path to eternity, grant, we pray, that we who keep the solemnity of the Lord’s Resurrection may, through the renewal brought by your Spirit, rise up in the light of life. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Five Our Fathers, five Hail Marys, and five Glory Be prayers.
Day 4 — Monday of Easter Week, April 6
Collect for Monday in the Octave of Easter — Roman Missal:
O God, who have bestowed on us paschal remedies, endow your people with heavenly gifts, so that, possessed of perfect freedom, they may rejoice in heaven over what gladdens them now on earth. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Five Our Fathers, five Hail Marys, and five Glory Be prayers.
Day 5 — Tuesday of Easter Week, April 7
Collect for Tuesday in the Octave of Easter — Roman Missal:
O God, who give constant increase to your Church by new offspring, grant that your servants may hold fast in their lives to the Sacrament they have received in faith. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Five Our Fathers, five Hail Marys, and five Glory Be prayers.
Day 6 — Wednesday of Easter Week, April 8
Collect for Wednesday in the Octave of Easter — Roman Missal:
O God, who gladden us with the annual solemnity of the Lord’s Resurrection, mercifully grant that by celebrating these temporal feasts, we may become worthy to attain eternal joys. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.
Five Our Fathers, five Hail Marys, and five Glory Be prayers.
Day 7 — Thursday of Easter Week, April 9
Collect for Thursday in the Octave of Easter — Roman Missal:
O God, who have united the many nations in confessing your name, grant that those reborn in the font of Baptism may be one in the faith of their hearts and the homage of their deeds. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Five Our Fathers, five Hail Marys, and five Glory Be prayers.
Day 8 — Friday of Easter Week, April 10
Collect for Friday in the Octave of Easter — Roman Missal:
Almighty and eternal God, in the Easter sacrament you have established the covenant whereby you forgave mankind; grant to our souls that what we outwardly profess we may show forth in our deeds. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Five Our Fathers, five Hail Marys, and five Glory Be prayers.
Day 9 — Saturday, April 11 — Eve of Divine Mercy Sunday
Collect for Saturday in the Octave of Easter — Roman Missal:
Grant, we pray, almighty God, that we who have celebrated the Easter mysteries may by your gift hold fast to them in the way we live our lives. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Five Our Fathers, five Hail Marys, and five Glory Be prayers.
About This Devotion
The Easter Novena belongs to the ancient tradition of novena prayer — nine days of continuous petition modeled on the Apostles’ prayer in the Upper Room before Pentecost. Its connection to the Paschal mystery makes it unique among Catholic novenas: it does not prepare for a feast but flows from one, carrying the grace of Easter through the entire octave.
The nine-day window ending on Divine Mercy Sunday was given particular significance by Saint Faustina Kowalska (1905–1938), the Polish mystic and apostle of Divine Mercy. In her Diary, she recorded the words of Jesus asking that a novena of trust and mercy be prayed beginning Good Friday. Pope John Paul II canonized Faustina in 2000 and established Divine Mercy Sunday as a universal feast of the Church — giving these nine days a weight they carry for the entire Catholic world.
Related Devotions
- Divine Mercy Novena — The novena revealed to Saint Faustina, prayed over the same nine days. Pair it with the Easter Novena for a complete experience of this sacred season.
- Divine Mercy Chaplet Prayer — Pray it at 3:00 PM during these nine days — the Hour of Mercy — for the most powerful combination of Easter-season prayer.
- Divine Mercy Sunday 2026 — Everything you need to know about April 12: the promises, the sacraments, and how to prepare.
- Good Friday 2026 — Begin here, on Day 1. Understanding Good Friday deepens every prayer of the novena that follows.
Frequently Asked Questions
The Easter Novena begins on Good Friday, April 3, 2026, and concludes on Saturday, April 11 — the eve of Divine Mercy Sunday.
They share the same nine-day window but are different devotions. The Divine Mercy Novena was given specifically to Saint Faustina and offers a different soul to God’s mercy each day. The Easter Novena is an older, simpler prayer focused on the resurrection. Many Catholics pray both.
You can begin at any point, but starting on Good Friday aligns the novena with its full liturgical meaning. If you miss a day, simply continue — the Church has never required perfection in devotional prayer, only sincerity.
Jesus told Saint Faustina that whoever goes to Confession and receives Holy Communion on Divine Mercy Sunday will receive complete forgiveness of sins and punishment — a grace comparable to a second Baptism. This novena is the nine-day preparation for that extraordinary gift.
Absolutely. Offering each day’s prayer for a specific person — someone ill, someone struggling with faith, someone who has died — is one of the most powerful ways to pray this novena.
