Veterans Day Prayer: Catholic Prayers for Veterans

Veterans Day, November 11, honors everyone who has served in the armed forces. For Catholics it is a day to thank God for their service, to pray for the veterans who are still with us and for those who have died, and to ask for the gift of peace. Fittingly, November 11 is also the feast of St. Martin of Tours, the Roman soldier who shared his cloak with a beggar and became one of the great saints of the Church.

Below are Catholic prayers for veterans, for the fallen, for those serving today, for wounded veterans and military families, a prayer for our country and for peace, and ready-to-use Prayers of the Faithful for Mass on Veterans Day or Remembrance Sunday.

A Veterans Day prayer

This prayer was written for this page. It can be prayed at home, at school or at a Veterans Day ceremony.

Almighty God, on this Veterans Day we thank you
for the men and women who have served our country in the armed forces.
Reward their courage, their sacrifice and their faithfulness to duty.
Bless the veterans who are still with us:
heal their wounds of body, mind and spirit,
give them work, a home and friends who understand them,
and let them never feel forgotten.
Grant eternal rest to those who have died,
and teach us to build the peace for which they hoped.
We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

A prayer for those who died in service

Jesus said that there is no greater love than to give one’s life for one’s friends:

Greater love than this no man hath, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

Pray for the fallen with the words of the Book of Wisdom, often read at funerals:

But the souls of the just are in the hand of God, and the torment of death shall not touch them.
In the sight of the unwise they seemed to die: and their departure was taken for misery:
And their going away from us, for utter destruction: but they are in peace.

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon them.
May the souls of all the faithful departed,
through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

November is the month of the Holy Souls. From November 1 to 8, a plenary indulgence for the souls of the dead may be gained by visiting a cemetery and praying for them; many families visit a military cemetery during these days. See prayers for deceased loved ones and Catholic prayers for the dead.

A prayer for those serving today

Written for this page:

Lord God, protect the men and women who are serving in our armed forces today,
especially those far from home and those in danger.
Keep them safe in body and soul, give them courage and good judgment,
and keep them faithful to you and to what is right.
Comfort the families who are waiting for them,
and bring them home in peace. Amen.

Many service members carry Psalm 90 (Psalm 91 in modern Bibles), sometimes called “the soldier’s psalm,” which begins: “He that dwelleth in the aid of the most High, shall abide under the protection of the God of Jacob.” Read it in full in our Catholic prayer for protection.

A prayer for wounded veterans

For veterans living with injuries, post-traumatic stress, moral wounds or memories that will not go away. Written for this page:

Lord Jesus, you bear the wounds of your passion even in your glory.
Look with love on the veterans who carry wounds of war:
injuries of body, burdens of memory and wounds of conscience.
Bring them healing, peace and forgiveness where it is needed.
Strengthen those who care for them,
and give our nation the gratitude and patience to walk with them. Amen.

If you are a veteran in crisis in the United States, call or text 988 and press 1 for the Veterans Crisis Line, or contact a chaplain or a priest. See also our Catholic prayers for healing.

A prayer for military families

Holy Family of Nazareth, you knew exile in Egypt and the fear of danger.
Watch over the spouses, children and parents of our service members and veterans.
Give them strength during separations and deployments,
patience in the hard days of return,
and the joy of being together in peace. Amen.

This prayer was written for this page. See also our Catholic prayer for family.

A prayer for our country

In 1791, John Carroll, the first Catholic bishop in the United States, composed a prayer for the Church and the nation that was read in American parishes for generations. This is its prayer for all citizens:

We recommend likewise to Thy unbounded mercy all our brethren and fellow-citizens throughout the United States, that they may be blessed in the knowledge and sanctified in the observance of Thy most holy law; that they may be preserved in union, and in that peace which the world can not give; and after enjoying the blessings of this life, be admitted to those which are eternal.

A prayer for peace

The prophet Isaiah foresaw a day when the weapons of war would become tools for farming:

And he shall judge the Gentiles, and rebuke many people: and they shall turn their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into sickles: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they be exercised any more to war.

Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called children of God.

Lord, make us builders of peace in our homes, our country and our world.
Comfort the victims of war, convert the hearts of those who choose violence,
and give wisdom to those who govern,
that justice and peace may embrace. Amen.

The prayer above was written for this page.

St. Martin of Tours, the soldier saint of November 11

Martin was born around 316 in present-day Hungary, the son of a Roman officer, and served in the Roman cavalry. One winter day at the gate of Amiens he met a freezing beggar, cut his military cloak in two and gave him half. That night, his biographer Sulpicius Severus tells us, Martin saw Christ in a dream wearing the half-cloak and saying, “Martin, who is still but a catechumen, clothed me with this robe.” Martin was baptized, left the army, became a monk and later bishop of Tours. He died in 397. Read his full story on St. Martin of Tours.

St. Martin is a patron of soldiers, of the poor and of France, and he was one of the first saints honored in the West who did not die as a martyr. The armistice that ended the First World War was signed on St. Martin’s Day 1918.

A prayer to St. Martin, written for this page:

Saint Martin of Tours, soldier of Rome and soldier of Christ,
you saw the Lord in a poor man shivering at the gate.
Pray for our veterans and for all who serve,
that they may be brave, just and merciful,
and help us to see Christ in every veteran in need. Amen.

Other patron saints of soldiers include St. Michael the Archangel, St. Sebastian and St. Joan of Arc. See our list of patron saints.

Prayers of the Faithful for Veterans Day

For Mass on November 11, a Veterans Day service, or Remembrance Sunday. Response after each petition: Lord, hear our prayer.

For the Church, that like St. Martin of Tours she may always see Christ in the poor and the suffering, we pray to the Lord.
For our nation and its leaders, that they may seek peace with justice and honor the sacrifices of those who served, we pray to the Lord.
For all veterans, that they may know our gratitude and find healing, work, community and peace, we pray to the Lord.
For the men and women serving in the armed forces today, especially those far from home, that God may protect them and bring them safely back to their families, we pray to the Lord.
For veterans who suffer from wounds of body, mind or spirit, and for all who care for them, we pray to the Lord.
For military families, that they may be strengthened in times of separation and loss, we pray to the Lord.
For all who have died in the service of their country, and for all our beloved dead, that they may rest in the peace of Christ, we pray to the Lord.

For help writing your own, see how to write prayers of the faithful, and for more examples, our prayers of the faithful collection.

How Catholics can honor veterans

Have a Mass offered for veterans living and dead, or for a family member who served. See Mass intentions.
Visit a military cemetery during the first week of November and pray for the dead.
Pray a Rosary for veterans and for peace. Here are the prayers of the Rosary.
Thank a veteran personally, and listen to their story.
Support Catholic chaplains through the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, which serves Catholics in the armed forces and in VA hospitals.

Frequently asked questions

When is Veterans Day 2026?

Veterans Day is always November 11. In 2026 it falls on a Wednesday. In the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth, November 11 is Remembrance Day, and Remembrance Sunday in 2026 is November 8.

What is the difference between Veterans Day and Memorial Day?

Memorial Day (the last Monday of May) honors those who died in military service. Veterans Day honors everyone who has served, living and dead. It began as Armistice Day, remembering the end of the First World War on November 11, 1918, and was renamed Veterans Day in 1954.

What does the Catholic Church teach about military service?

The Church urges everyone to work and pray for peace, and it also teaches that “those who are sworn to serve their country in the armed forces are servants of the security and freedom of nations” who, carrying out their duty honorably, “truly contribute to the common good of the nation and the maintenance of peace” (Catechism 2310).

Who is the patron saint of veterans?

There is no official patron of veterans, but St. Martin of Tours, whose feast is November 11, is widely honored as the patron of soldiers and veterans. St. Michael the Archangel is the patron of soldiers and police.

Can I pray the Eternal Rest for veterans who were not Catholic?

Yes. We may pray for all the dead and entrust them to the mercy of God.

More prayers

Texts and sources

Prayer for our country: John Carroll, “Prayer for the Church and for the Civil Authorities” (1791), as printed in F. X. Lasance, With God (1911), public domain (Wikisource).
Scripture: John 15:13; Wisdom 3:1–3; Isaias 2:4; Matthew 5:9; Psalm 90:1, Douay-Rheims Bible (Challoner), public domain.
St. Martin: Sulpicius Severus, Life of St. Martin, chapter 3, trans. Alexander Roberts (1894), public domain.
Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2310.
The Veterans Day prayer, the prayers for those serving, wounded veterans, military families and peace, the prayer to St. Martin and the Prayers of the Faithful were written for this page.