Novena to St Christopher

The novena to St Christopher is a nine-day prayer to the giant Christ-bearer of the old legend — the strong man who carried the Child Jesus across a flooded river and became, ever after, the patron of travellers. It is prayed most often for safe travel and protection on the road, but the saint is a "Christ-bearer" in a wider sense, and the Church long numbered him among the Fourteen Holy Helpers invoked in every danger of body and soul. His feast falls on 25 July, and the nine days leading up to it are the natural time to pray it — though, like any novena, it may be said whenever a journey or a need calls for his help. Below we give the complete traditional prayers, the shorter travellers' prayers the road asks for, and the true story behind the devotion.

The full novena to St Christopher

The traditional novena to St Christopher is the one carried in the old prayer-books among the devotions to the Fourteen Holy Helpers, the group of saints invoked together against the great perils of life. It is made of four prayers, said in order, once on each of the nine days, with your intention named where the Preparatory Prayer marks it. If you are new to this form of prayer, our guide to what is a novena explains why the Church prays for nine days.

Preparatory Prayer

Almighty and eternal God! With lively faith and reverently worshipping Your Divine Majesty, I prostrate myself before You and invoke with filial trust Your supreme generosity and mercy. Illuminate the darkness of my intellect with a ray of Your Heavenly light and inflame my heart with the fire of Your Divine Love, that I may contemplate the great virtues and merits of the Saint in whose honor I make this novena, and following their example imitate, as they did, the life of Your Divine Son.

Moreover, I beseech You to graciously grant me, through the merits and intercession of this powerful Helper, the petition which through them I humbly place before You (here name your request), devoutly saying, "Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven." Vouchsafe graciously to hear it, if it is to Your greater glory and the salvation of my soul. Amen.

Prayer in Honor of St Christopher

O God, Who did make St. Christopher a true Christ-bearer, who converted multitudes to the Christian faith, and Who gave him the grace to suffer for Your sake the most cruel torments, through the intercession of this Saint, we implore You to protect us from sin, the only real evil. Preserve us also against the harmful forces of nature, such as earthquake, lightning, fire, and flood. Amen.

Invocation of St Christopher

Great St. Christopher, seeking and mightiest master which you found in Jesus Christ, the Almighty God of Heaven and earth. Faithfully serving Him with all your power to the end of your life, gaining for Him countless souls and finally shedding your blood for Him, obtain for me the grace to bear Christ always in my heart, as you once did, bearing Him on your shoulder. So that by this I may be strengthened to overcome victoriously all temptations and resist all enticements of the world, the devil, and the flesh, and that the powers of darkness may not prevail against me. Amen.

Concluding Prayer

My Lord and my God! I offer up to You my petition in union with the bitter passion and death of Jesus Christ, Your Son, together with the merits of His Immaculate and Blessed Mother, Mary ever Virgin, and of all the Saints, particularly with those of the Holy Helper, St. Christopher, in whose honor I make this novena. Look down upon me, merciful Lord! Grant me Your Grace and Your Love, and graciously hear my prayer. Amen.

Many close each day with the little invocation St Christopher, pray for us, and add an Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be for the intention.

The short prayer to St Christopher: "O glorious Christ-bearer"

Those who want a shorter form, or who wish to add a single invocation to the fuller prayers, often use this well-loved petition. It draws directly on the meaning of his name — Christophoros, "Christ-bearer":

O glorious St Christopher, you have inherited a beautiful name, Christ-bearer, because of the wonderful legend that while carrying people across a raging stream you also carried the Child Jesus. Teach us to be true Christ-bearers to those who do not know Him. Protect all of us who travel both near and far, and petition Jesus to be with us always. St Christopher, pray for us. Amen.

The novena to St Christopher for safe travel

By far the most common reason souls turn to St Christopher is travel, and a novena to St Christopher for safe travel is simply the devotion above prayed with that intention named — for a journey ahead, for someone far from home, for those who drive or fly or go down to the sea in ships. The Preparatory Prayer already begs protection "against the harmful forces of nature," and the Prayer in Honor of St Christopher names fire and flood by name, so the nine days fit the traveller's need without changing a word. Name your journey plainly, and add the old Prayer to St Christopher while travelling:

Dear Saint Christopher, protect me today in all my travels along the road's way. Give your warning sign if danger is near so that I may stop while the path is clear. Be at my window and direct me through when the vision blurs from out of the blue. Carry me safely to my destined place, like you carried Christ in your close embrace. Amen.

Those who wish may also say the well-known Motorist's Prayer, long printed on the holy cards kept in glove-boxes and above dashboards:

Grant me, O Lord, a steady hand and watchful eye, that no one shall be hurt as I pass by. You gave life, I pray no act of mine may take away or mar that gift of Thine. Shelter those, dear Lord, who bear my company from the evils of fire and all calamity. Teach me to use my car for others' need; nor miss through love of undue speed the beauty of the world; that thus I may with joy and courtesy go on my way. St Christopher, holy patron of travellers, protect me and lead me safely to my destiny. Amen.

St Christopher is the great patron of the road, but he is not the only intercessor a traveller may keep. The Archangel Raphael, who walked with young Tobias on his journey and brought him home safe, is invoked for the same needs; see our novena to St Raphael. And no one on any road is ever alone: the novena to your guardian angel begs the constant companion given to guard us "in all our ways." For the wider tradition, see the patron saint of travellers.

How to pray this novena

A novena is nine consecutive days of prayer, and this one is prayed like the rest. Say the four prayers above once each day for nine days, at a fixed hour if you can — morning or evening, before a crucifix or an image of the saint. Name your intention in the Preparatory Prayer, and keep the same intention through all nine days.

To pray it toward the feast, begin on 17 July so that the ninth day falls on 25 July, the feast of St Christopher; some prefer to begin on 16 July and finish on the eve. But the novena is not tied to the calendar: pray it in the days before a long journey, at the start of a holiday, or whenever a road or a danger calls for his help. Above all, pray it in submission — Thy will be done — asking not to bind God but to place the journey, and the soul, in the hands of the Christ-bearer.

Who is St Christopher? The story of the Christ-bearer

St Christopher is one of the most beloved and most legendary of the martyrs, honoured across both East and West from very early times. The Roman Martyrology records simply that he suffered in Lycia (in Asia Minor) under the persecution of the Emperor Decius, in the middle of the third century — shot with arrows, preserved from the flames, and at last beheaded. A church in Bithynia was dedicated to him as early as the year 452. Beyond the fact of a genuine martyr named Christopher, the details we love come to us through the famous legend, gathered in the Golden Legend and told all over Christendom.

According to that story, he was a giant of a man, of the lineage of Canaan, twelve cubits tall and of terrible appearance, whose one desire was to serve the greatest king in the world. He served an earthly king until he saw him cross himself at the mention of the devil, and left him to serve the devil as the greater lord; but when he saw the devil flee in fear from a wayside cross, he left him too, and set out to find Christ, who was greater still. A hermit taught him the Faith and, since the giant could neither fast nor keep long vigils, set him a labour fitted to his strength: to carry travellers across a dangerous river that had drowned many.

So he did, bearing a great staff, for many days. One night a small child asked to be carried over. Christopher lifted him onto his shoulders and stepped into the water — but with every step the child grew heavier, until the giant staggered under a weight that seemed to be the whole world, and feared he would drown. Reaching the far bank, he said, "Child, you have put me in great peril; you weighed almost as if I had all the world upon me." And the child answered: "Marvel not, for you have borne upon your shoulders not only all the world, but Him who created it. I am Christ your King." As a sign, the child bade him plant his staff in the earth, and by morning it had blossomed and borne fruit like a palm. From that hour he was Christopher — the Christ-bearer.

He went then to Lycia and preached Christ, converting thousands, and was seized in the persecution. The legend tells of torments he survived unharmed — a red-hot iron seat that melted like wax, arrows that hung in the air without touching him, one of which turned back and blinded the king — until at last he was beheaded, and with a little of his blood the blinded king was healed and came to believe. Whatever poetry the middle ages wove into the tale, its heart is sound: a strong man laid all his strength at the feet of Christ and carried Him to the end.

What St Christopher is the patron saint of

From the legend arose the ancient belief that whoever looked upon an image of St Christopher would come to no harm that day — which is why large frescoes and statues of him were set opposite church doors, so that all who entered would see him. He became the patron of travellers, invoked against perils of water, tempest, and plague, and against sudden and unprovided death; and in our own day he is the beloved patron of motorists, his medal fixed in countless cars. As one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers, he is invoked more widely still — against storms, epilepsy, and toothache, and for a holy and prepared death, that grace which the novena to St Joseph also seeks. For his whole story and his prayers, see our page on St Christopher.

Frequently Asked Questions

Was St Christopher removed from the calendar or "de-canonized"?

No. St Christopher was never de-canonized, and the Church has never denied that he was a real martyr. In the 1969 revision of the general calendar his feast was made an optional local memorial rather than a universal one, because so little is known of him beyond the legend — but he remains a canonized saint, his feast is kept on 25 July, and his cult is entirely lawful and encouraged. Those attached to the 1962 calendar keep his feast on 25 July as they always have.

When is St Christopher's feast day?

His feast is 25 July. To pray the novena toward the feast, begin on 17 July so that the ninth day falls on the feast itself.

How do I pray the novena to St Christopher for travel?

Pray the four traditional prayers above once a day for nine days, naming your journey or the traveller you pray for in the Preparatory Prayer. Add the short Prayer to St Christopher while travelling or the Motorist's Prayer given above. You can begin the novena in the nine days before a trip, or keep it at any time you or those you love are on the road.

Is there a St Christopher Christmas novena?

Not properly. St Christopher's feast is in July, not Advent, so there is no distinct "Christmas" novena to him — the search usually confuses him with the famous St Andrew Christmas novena, the "Hail and Blessed be the Hour" prayer said fifteen times a day from 30 November to Christmas. You may of course ask St Christopher's protection for the many who travel at Christmas, using the ordinary novena above.

What does the name Christopher mean?

Christopher comes from the Greek Christophoros, meaning "Christ-bearer." The legend gives it a literal ground — the giant who carried the Child Jesus across the river — but the older, spiritual meaning is the one every Christian shares: to bear Christ in one's heart and carry Him to a world that does not know Him.

What is a St Christopher medal for?

The St Christopher medal is a sacramental — a blessed object that stirs devotion and asks the saint's protection, most often for travellers and drivers. Like every sacramental, it works not as a charm or a lucky token but through the prayer of the Church and the faith of the one who wears it; to treat it as a magic guarantee would be superstition. Worn with faith, it is a good and ancient reminder to put every journey in God's hands under the patronage of the Christ-bearer.

Is there a St Christopher novena PDF or printable version?

You need nothing more than the four prayers given above — copy them onto a card, print this page, or keep them on your phone to say the same words each of the nine days. Rather than hunt for a loose PDF, many prefer to pray it in the Iter Fidei app, which carries the full novena with day-by-day reminders and audio so you never lose your place or your intention.

Can I pray the novena for someone else?

Yes. Novenas are often prayed for others — for a child driving far from home, for a traveller at sea or in the air, for a soldier or a sailor. Simply name the person and their need in the Preparatory Prayer and keep them in your intention through all nine days.

Pray this novena to St Christopher with day-by-day reminders and audio, in Latin and your own language, in the Iter Fidei app. Download it here.

Sources. Roman Martyrology (25 July); Butler's Lives of the Saints and the Golden Legend of Bd James of Voragine (the account of the Christ-bearer, Englished by William Caxton); the traditional novena to St Christopher among the devotions to the Fourteen Holy Helpers (Preparatory Prayer, Prayer in Honor of St Christopher, Invocation, and Concluding Prayer), and the traditional Prayer to St Christopher while travelling and the Motorist's Prayer, as carried in the old prayer-books; on sacramentals and superstition, Catechism of St Pius X on the First Commandment.