The Miraculous Medal was designed by the Blessed Virgin Mary herself, who showed it to St. Catherine Labouré in Paris in 1830 and asked that it be made and worn. Around its edge is the prayer that has become one of the best-known invocations in the world: O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee. The novena to Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal is prayed especially from November 18 to 26, before her feast on November 27, and every Monday in many parishes.
Below: the novena with traditional prayers to the Immaculate Virgin, a short reflection for each of the nine days on the symbols of the medal, its history, and how to wear it.
How to pray the novena
- Make the Sign of the Cross and name your intention.
- Read the reflection for the day.
- Pray the invocation of the medal three times.
- Pray the prayer to Our Lady Immaculate (below).
- Pray the Memorare and end with the versicle and prayer of the Immaculate Conception.
The invocation of the Miraculous Medal
O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!
Prayer to Our Lady Immaculate
This prayer was indulgenced by Pope St. Pius X in 1905, the year after the fiftieth anniversary of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception:
Most holy Virgin, who wast pleasing to the Lord and became His Mother, immaculate in body and spirit, in faith and in love, look kindly on the wretched who implore thy powerful patronage. The wicked serpent, against whom was hurled the first curse, continues fiercely to attack and ensnare the unhappy children of Eve. Do thou, then, O Blessed Mother, our queen and advocate, who from the first instant of thy conception didst crush the head of the enemy, receive the prayers which, united with thee in our single heart, we implore thee to present at the throne of God, that we may never fall into the snares which are laid out for us, and may all arrive at the port of salvation; and, in so many dangers, may the Church and Christian society sing once again the hymn of deliverance and of victory and of peace. Amen.
Then pray the Memorare and conclude:
V. In thy conception, O Virgin! thou wast immaculate.
R. Pray for us to the Father, Whose Son thou didst bring forth.
Let us pray.
O God, Who, by the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin, didst prepare a worthy habitation for Thy Son, we beseech Thee, that as by the foreseen death of that same Son, Thou didst preserve her from all stain, so too thou wouldst permit us, purified through her intercession, to come unto Thee. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.
Day 1: The night of July 18, 1830
Catherine Labouré, a young novice of the Daughters of Charity, was awakened by a child who led her to the chapel on the Rue du Bac in Paris. There the Blessed Virgin came and sat beside her, and Catherine knelt with her hands on Mary’s lap. Reflect: Mary is a mother who comes close to her children.
Day 2: Mary standing on the globe
On November 27, 1830, Catherine saw Mary standing on a globe, crushing a serpent under her feet. Reflect: Mary, conceived without sin, shares in her Son’s victory over evil (Genesis 3:15). Ask her help against temptation.
Day 3: Rays of grace
Rays of light streamed from rings on Mary’s fingers. Some rings gave no light: “They are the graces for which people forget to ask.” Reflect: Ask Mary today for the graces you have never thought to ask for.
Day 4: “Conceived without sin”
Around Mary appeared the words O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee, twenty-four years before Pope Pius IX defined the dogma of the Immaculate Conception in 1854. Reflect: Thank God for preserving Mary from all sin for the sake of Christ.
Day 5: The M and the cross
The back of the medal shows a large letter M with a cross above it, joined by a bar. Reflect: Mary stands at the foot of the cross of her Son, and she leads us to him.
Day 6: Two hearts
Beneath the M are two hearts: the Sacred Heart of Jesus, crowned with thorns, and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, pierced by a sword. Reflect: Unite your sufferings to the love of these two hearts.
Day 7: Twelve stars
Twelve stars surround the design, recalling the woman “clothed with the sun” of the Apocalypse (12:1) and the twelve apostles. Reflect: Pray for the Church throughout the world.
Day 8: The miracles of the medal
The first medals were made in 1832, during a cholera epidemic in Paris. So many cures and conversions followed that people began calling it “the miraculous medal.” Reflect: Pray for the sick and for those far from God.
Day 9: The hidden saint
Catherine spent the rest of her life caring for the elderly at a hospice near Paris, and no one knew that she was the sister who had seen the Blessed Virgin until shortly before her death in 1876. She was canonized in 1947, and her body lies incorrupt in the chapel on the Rue du Bac. Reflect: Holiness is often hidden in faithful daily service.
How to wear the Miraculous Medal
The medal is a sacramental. Have it blessed by a priest, wear it around the neck (or carry it), and pray the invocation each day. Mary promised Catherine that those who wear it with confidence would receive great graces. It is not a charm: its power is the prayer and trust it expresses.
Frequently asked questions
When is the feast of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal?
November 27, the anniversary of the apparition of 1830. It is celebrated by the Vincentian family and in many dioceses.
When should I start the Miraculous Medal novena?
On November 18, to finish on November 26, the eve of the feast. Many parishes also pray a “perpetual novena” every Monday.
Who can wear the Miraculous Medal?
Anyone. Many non-Catholics have worn it and found faith; the famous conversion of Alphonse Ratisbonne in Rome in 1842 began with a medal.
Why is it called miraculous?
Because of the many cures and conversions reported soon after the first medals were distributed in 1832. Its official name is the Medal of the Immaculate Conception.
More Marian prayers and novenas
- Immaculate Conception novena
- The Memorare
- The Immaculate Conception
- The Mother of Perpetual Help novena
- The prayers of the Rosary
- Novenas: how to pray a novena
Texts and sources
- The invocation “O Mary, conceived without sin”: F. X. Lasance, With God (1911), Devotions to the Blessed Virgin Mary, public domain (Wikisource).
- Prayer to Our Lady Immaculate and the versicle and prayer of the Immaculate Conception: Charles J. Callan and John A. McHugh, Blessed Be God (1925), Devotions for the Months of the Year, public domain (Wikisource).
- History: the accounts of St. Catherine Labouré preserved by the Daughters of Charity; Pius IX, bull Ineffabilis Deus (1854).
- The daily reflections were written for this page.