St. Colette Novena
Contents
Show HideSt. Colette was a French abbess who lived in the 1300s-1400s. She was one of the founders of a reform branch of the Poor Clares. This reform branch was called the Colettine Poor Clares.
St. Colette was known to have brought about many miracles through her intercession during her lifetime. You can use this novena to seek intercession from this holy nun in your life!
About St. Colette
St. Colette was born in 1381 in a French village called Corbie. Her father was a poor carpenter at a nearby Benedictine Abbey.
It is said that St. Colette’s parents were very old and had been married for many years but remained childless. After praying to St. Nicholas, her mother finally gave birth to Colette at age sixty. Colette’s parents named her Nicholette after St. Nicholas, and her name eventually became shortened to Colette.
In 1399 when Colette was seventeen, both of her parents died. Colette distributed her inheritance to the poor and sought to fulfill her vocation to religious life.
Colette first joined a lay religious order called the Beguines, but she did not find their life to be spiritually challenging enough. Then, she became a lay sister in a Benedictine order but did feel that this was the right place for her either.
Colette then became a Franciscan Tertiary and lived as a hermit. She lived the ascetic life for four years under the direction of the Abbot of Corbie. She soon began to have visions and dreams, which led her to realize that God was calling her to reform the Poor Clares, to return the order to its original ideals of poverty.
At the time, a man named Peter de Lunar was an anti-pope claiming the title Benedict XIII. Because the French thought he was the true Pope, Colette sought his approval to transfer to the Poor Clare order and to begin reform in the order.
After receiving his approval, Colette began her work of reform. In 1410, she opened her first monastery in a house of Urbanist Poor Clares which was almost abandoned. She went on to establish seventeen other monasteries and to reform several others. She faced great opposition in her work of reform, but she persevered in her efforts.
In St. Colette’s monasteries, she instituted extreme poverty, wearing no shoes, and perpetual fasting and abstinence. Additionally, her convents followed special constitutions that were approved by Pope Nicholas V, and were later approved by both Pope Pius II and Pope Sixtus IV.
Colette became well-known for her holiness, as well as for her ecstasies and visions of Christ’s Passion. She also prophesied her own death. She died in Ghent, Belgium in 1447.
St. Colette was canonized by Pope Pius VII in 1807. Her biographers attribute several miracles to her intercession, both before and after her death.
St. Colette’s Feast Day: March 6th
Why Pray the St. Colette Novena?
St. Colette is the patron saint of women trying to conceive. You can seek St. Colette’s intercession if you are trying to conceive, or for someone you know who is trying to conceive.
St. Colette is also the patron saint of expectant mothers. If you are an expectant mother, you can ask St. Colette to pray for you. Or you can ask her to pray for an expectant mother whom you know.
Additionally, St. Colette is the patron saint of sick children. You can ask for her prayers on behalf of any sick children you know.
You can pray the St. Colette Novena for any intention!
St. Colette Novena Prayers
St. Colette Novena - Day 1
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Dear Lord, we thank You for giving us St. Colette as an example of holiness. Help us to imitate the love of You she showed continually throughout her lifetime.
St. Colette, it is said that your parents had been married for many years and were advanced in age but remained childless. They asked St. Nicholas for intercession, and God answered their prayers in your conception.
Please bring my petitions before the throne of God!
Your parents were very grateful to God for the gift of you, their daughter. They raised you to be a holy servant of God Who had answered their prayers and blessed them so richly.
Pray for me, that I may always seek to be a holy servant of God, as you were. Pray that I may have the faith to ask God for that which I need and desire in my life.
Please also pray for (mention your intentions here).
St. Colette, pray for us!
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
St. Colette Novena - Day 2
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Dear Lord, we thank You for giving us St. Colette as an example of holiness. Help us to imitate the devotion to You that she showed from the time she began on the path to holiness in her childhood.
St. Colette, your holy parents prayed for your conception. When their prayers were answered, they endeavored to raise you as a holy servant of God Who had blessed them.
Please bring my petitions before God Whom you served!
Your life with your parents must have been one of holiness and service to God. It prepared you for a life of particular devotion to God, as you went on to serve Him in the religious vocation.
Pray for me, that I may always serve God with devotion, as you did. Pray that I may love God wholeheartedly and may do my best to bring my family members closer to God.
Please also pray for (mention your intentions here).
St. Colette, pray for us!
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
St. Colette Novena - Day 3
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Dear Lord, we thank You for giving us St. Colette as an example of holiness. Help us to imitate the love of You she showed in choosing to devote herself to Your service as a nun.
St. Colette, your parents died when you were seventeen years old. Though you received an inheritance, you gave it away to the poor in order that you might pursue a life of consecrated religious service.
Please bring my petitions before God Whom you served so radically!
You attempted to live religious life in more than one order before you finally found your calling to reform the Poor Clares. In this role, you did all you could to serve God and bring others to holiness.
Pray for me, that I may always seek to serve God wholeheartedly, as you did. Pray that I may be open to following His call in my life each day.
Please also pray for (mention your intentions here).
St. Colette, pray for us!
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
St. Colette Novena - Day 4
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Dear Lord, we thank You for giving us St. Colette as an example of holiness. Help us to imitate the devotion to You she showed through her openness to Your will in her life.
St. Colette, you chose to serve God in the religious vocation after your parents died. As you discerned which order to spend the rest of your life in, you remained humbly open to God’s call.
Please bring my petitions before God Whom you served with such humble devotion!
When you began having visions showing you that God was calling you to reform the Poor Clare religious order, you eagerly began working to follow God’s will.
Pray for me, that I may always be open to doing God’s will in my life. Pray that I may be eager to serve Him in whatever way He might call me to do.
Please also pray for (mention your intentions here).
St. Colette, pray for us!
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
St. Colette Novena - Day 5
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Dear Lord, we thank You for giving us St. Colette as an example of holiness. Help us to imitate the love of You she showed in choosing to enter the religious life.
St. Colette, you desired to serve God in a wholehearted way by entering religious life when you were a young woman. The first orders you tried to enter were not spiritually challenging enough, but you persevered in seeking God’s will for your life.
Please persevere in bringing my petitions before God!
The Poor Clare order had fallen away from its original ideals of poverty. When God called you to reform the Poor Clares, you eagerly embarked on this mission.
Pray for me, that I may be eager to serve God in my life, as you were. Pray that I may always seek to serve Him with wholehearted devotion.
Please also pray for (mention your intentions here).
St. Colette, pray for us!
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
St. Colette Novena - Day 6
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Dear Lord, we thank You for giving us St. Colette as an example of holiness. Help us to imitate the devotion to You she showed in her eager acceptance of Your call to reform the Poor Clares.
St. Colette, you discerned your religious vocation first in the Beguines and as a lay Benedictine. After living as a hermit for some time, you realized that God was calling you to reform the Poor Clares.
Please bring my petitions before the throne of God!
You faced great opposition in your work of reform in the Poor Clare Order, but you persevered in seeking to return the order to its original ideals of poverty.
Pray for me, that I may persevere in seeking to do God’s will in my life. Pray that I may never allow opposition or obstacles to deter me from seeking to serve God.
Please also pray for (mention your intentions here).
St. Colette, pray for us!
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
St. Colette Novena - Day 7
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Dear Lord, we thank You for giving us St. Colette as an example of holiness. Help us to imitate the love of You she showed in seeking to enact much-needed reforms.
St. Colette, you desired to serve God radically in your life. You discerned that He was calling you to reform the Poor Clare religious order, and you carried out His will faithfully.
Please be faithful in bringing my petitions before God!
As you worked to reform the Poor Clares, you instituted extreme poverty, shoelessness, and perpetual fasting and abstinence. Though you faced a lot of opposition as you worked to bring the order back to its original practices, you persevered.
Pray for me, that I may always persevere in seeking to do God’s will. Pray that I may seek to grow in holiness and faithfulness each day.
Please also pray for (mention your intentions here).
St. Colette, pray for us!
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
St. Colette Novena - Day 8
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Dear Lord, we thank You for giving us St. Colette as an example of holiness. Help us to imitate the virtue she showed by seeking heavenly riches over earthly ones.
St. Colette, you showed a great spirit of poverty and detachment from the time you were a young woman. When your parents died, you distributed your inheritance to the poor and began seeking a way to serve God in the religious life.
Please bring my petitions before God Whom you served so eagerly!
During your work reforming the Poor Clares, you brought the order back to its original spirit of poverty. You worked to reinstate the order’s extreme practice of poverty, for the love of God.
Pray for me, that I may grow in a spirit of holy detachment in my life. Pray that I may always seek heavenly riches over earthly ones.
Please also pray for (mention your intentions here).
St. Colette, pray for us!
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
St. Colette Novena - Day 9
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Dear Lord, we thank You for giving us St. Colette as an example of holiness. Help us to imitate the devotion to You she showed in her life of service to Your Church.
St. Colette, you chose to serve God in a radical way from the time you were a young woman. Though you struggled to find the path God was calling you to in religious life, you persevered in seeking to do His will.
Please persevere in bringing my petitions before the throne of God!
You did a lot of work reforming the Poor Clare order. You established many new convents and restored the practices that the order had embraced from its beginning. You did this work out of love for God and His Church.
Pray for me, that I may always seek to serve God and His Church in my life. Pray that I may never miss the opportunity to put my gifts to use in serving God.
Please also pray for (mention your intentions here).
St. Colette, pray for us!
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.