Novena to Saint Monica for Troubled Children and Family Healing
Feast Day: August 27 — Patron Saint of Mothers, Wives, and Those Praying for Conversion
Saint Monica is one of the most beloved saints in the Catholic Church, known for her steadfast faith and persistent prayers for the conversion of her husband and her son, Saint Augustine, who became one of the greatest Doctors of the Church. Her example reminds us that God hears the prayers of the faithful, even when the answer takes years.
This 9-day novena seeks her powerful intercession for our children, spouses, family members, and anyone who has wandered away from the faith.
A Documented Account: Two Signs Along the Way
Saint Augustine recorded his mother’s long years of prayer in his own Confessions, and two moments stand out as turning points along the way.
Early in her son’s wandering years, Monica pleaded with a bishop in North Africa to speak with Augustine and correct his errors. The bishop refused, explaining it was not yet the time — Augustine was too convinced of his own ideas to listen. But when Monica continued weeping and pleading, he finally said to her: “Go your way; it cannot be that the son of these tears should perish.” Augustine later wrote that his mother received those words as though they had come from heaven.
Not long after, Monica had a vision. She dreamed she was standing on a wooden rule, grieving, when a young man asked her why she wept. When she answered that she mourned the loss of her son’s soul, he told her to look — and there beside her, standing on the same rule, was Augustine himself. She took it as a promise that one day he would stand where she stood in the faith. Years later, after his baptism, mother and son shared a quiet, luminous conversation at a window in Ostia, Italy — a moment of shared contemplation Augustine described as touching, for one instant, the edge of eternity. Days later, Monica fell ill and died in peace, her long years of prayer finally answered.
Why Pray This Novena?
We turn to Saint Monica when the people we love most seem furthest from God, asking for the same perseverance that carried her through thirty years of unanswered prayer. We can bring to this novena:
- The conversion of a child, spouse, or loved one who has drifted from the faith
- Patience to keep praying when there is no visible sign of change
- Healing in family relationships strained by years of conflict or distance
- Trust in God’s timing, even when the answer seems long delayed
How to Pray the Novena
This novena is traditionally prayed over nine consecutive days, from August 19 through August 27, the feast of Saint Monica. It may also be prayed at any time when asking God for the conversion of a loved one, healing within a family, or the grace to persevere in prayer.
Each day of the novena:
- Begin with the Sign of the Cross.
- Read the reflection for that day.
- Pray the Traditional Novena Prayer to Saint Monica below, bringing your personal intention before God.
- Pray the Closing Prayer for Each Day.
- End by entrusting your loved one to God’s mercy and providence.
Novena to Saint Monica
Daily Reflections
Before praying the novena prayer each day, take a few moments to reflect on Saint Monica’s life and perseverance.
- Day 1 — August 19: Monica married a man whose temper and unfaithfulness caused her real suffering, yet she met it with patience rather than bitterness. Today, we ask for grace to respond to hardship with love, not resentment.
- Day 2 — August 20: Through her quiet example, Monica’s patience eventually won over her husband, Patricius, who was baptized before his death. Today, we ask that our own quiet witness might soften a hardened heart.
- Day 3 — August 21: Monica wept nightly over her son Augustine’s wandering years, refusing to give up hope even when he seemed lost. Today, we bring before her the person we have almost stopped praying for.
- Day 4 — August 22: When a bishop finally told her, “the son of these tears shall not perish,” Monica received it as a word from heaven and held onto it for years. Today, we ask for a sign, however small, to renew our own hope.
- Day 5 — August 23: In a vision, Monica saw her son standing beside her on the same wooden rule, a promise of what was still to come. Today, we ask Saint Monica to help us trust promises we cannot yet see fulfilled.
- Day 6 — August 24: Monica followed Augustine across the sea to Milan, refusing to let distance end her prayers for him. Today, we ask for the same determination in praying for those who feel far away.
- Day 7 — August 25: She lived to see her son baptized, the answer to thirty years of tears arriving all at once. Today, we give thanks in advance for prayers still waiting to be answered.
- Day 8 — August 26: At a window in Ostia, mother and son shared a moment of quiet communion with God, each finally at peace. Today, we ask for that same peace with the people we love, however our relationship stands.
- Day 9 — August 27 (Feast of Saint Monica): Monica died days later, her life’s greatest prayer fulfilled. Today, on her feast day, we entrust our own long-awaited prayers into her hands, asking her to carry them, as a mother, before God.
A Traditional Novena Prayer to Saint Monica
This traditional prayer is prayed each day of the nine-day novena. Bring your personal intention before God where indicated, asking Saint Monica’s intercession and entrusting your loved ones to God’s mercy and providence.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Dear Saint Monica, you were once the mournful mother of a prodigal son. Your faithfulness to prayer brought you and your son so close to God that you are now with him in eternity. By your intercession and God’s grace, your son Saint Augustine became a great and venerable Saint of the Church. Please take my request to God with the same fervor and persistence with which you prayed for your own son.
(Mention your intentions here.)
With your needs, worries and anxieties, you threw yourself on the mercy and providence of God. Through sorrow and pain, you constantly devoted yourself to God. Pray for me that I might join you in such a deep faith in God’s goodness and mercy.
Above all, dear Saint Monica, pray for me that I may, like your son, turn from my sin and become a great saint for the glory of God. Amen.
Closing Prayer for Each Day
O God, comforter of the sorrowful,
You accepted the tears of Saint Monica for the conversion of her son Augustine.
Grant us, through her prayers, that we may weep for our sins and find your grace and mercy.
Through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Intercessory Intentions
You can dedicate this novena for:
- The conversion of friends who have drifted away from the Church
- Those who have lost faith or live far from God’s grace
- The conversion of children or grandchildren
- Healing in family relationships
- Return of a spouse or loved one to the faith
- Strength for mothers in times of trial
About Saint Monica
Saint Monica was born in Tagaste, North Africa (modern-day Algeria) in 331 AD, into a Christian family. She was given in marriage to Patricius, a pagan with a difficult temper. Despite the challenges in her marriage, she lived her faith with patience and love, eventually leading her husband to convert to Christianity before his death.
Her greatest trial was her son, Augustine, who abandoned the faith and lived a life far from God. Monica followed him with her prayers, tears, and perseverance for thirty years, trusting that God would work in His own time. Her steadfast intercession was rewarded when Augustine embraced the Catholic faith, was baptized, and became one of the greatest Doctors of the Church.
Saint Monica died in 387 AD in Ostia, Italy, shortly after witnessing her son’s conversion. She is the patron saint of mothers, wives, and all those who pray for the conversion of loved ones. Her feast day is celebrated on August 27, the day before her son’s.
Related Prayers
- Novena to Saint Augustine — continue the story with the son whose conversion answered her prayers.
- Prayer to the Holy Family
- Padre Pio Healing Prayer
- Prayer for New Beginnings
- Prayer for Family Protection
Frequently Asked Questions
Begin on August 19 to finish on her feast day, August 27. You may also pray it at any time of the year when seeking her intercession for a loved one.
Saint Monica is the patron saint of mothers, wives, and all those who pray for the conversion of a loved one.
According to Catholic tradition, Saint Monica prayed and wept for her son Augustine’s conversion for thirty years before he was baptized in 387 AD. Her long perseverance has made her a beloved patron for parents and families praying for the conversion of someone they love.
Saint Monica was the mother of Saint Augustine of Hippo. Her decades of prayer and faithful perseverance are remembered as an important part of Augustine’s journey to conversion. He later became one of the great Doctors of the Church. Her feast day, August 27, falls the day before his.
Yes. Saint Monica prayed for Augustine well into his adulthood. This novena is often prayed by parents, grandparents, spouses, and other loved ones for someone who has drifted from the Catholic faith or is struggling spiritually. We ask God to work through His grace while respecting each person’s freedom and trusting in His perfect timing.
