Our Lady of Divine Providence (in Spanish, Nuestra Señora de la Divina Providencia) is the title under which Mary is honored as the mother who, by her prayers, obtains for her children everything they need from God’s providence. She is the principal patroness of Puerto Rico, where her feast is celebrated on November 19, the anniversary of Columbus’s arrival on the island in 1493. In 2026 it falls on a Thursday. Below are the history of the devotion, the traditional prayer to Mary, Mother of Divine Providence, and ways to keep the feast.
What does “Mother of Divine Providence” mean?
Divine providence is God’s loving care for everything he has made, guiding all things toward their good. Mary is called Mother of Divine Providence because she cooperated with God’s plan of salvation more fully than any other creature, and because, as at the wedding feast of Cana, she notices what her children lack and brings it to her Son: “They have no wine” (John 2:3). Devotion to her under this title is a way of entrusting our needs, spiritual and material, to God through her.
History of the devotion
The devotion grew in Italy in the late sixteenth and seventeenth centuries around a painting of the Madonna tenderly holding the sleeping Child Jesus, known as Mater Divinae Providentiae. The Barnabite Fathers, who kept it in their church of San Carlo ai Catinari in Rome, spread the devotion, and Pope Leo XIII indulgenced the prayer below in 1886.
In the nineteenth century the devotion came from Spain to Puerto Rico, where it took deep root. Pope Paul VI declared Our Lady of Divine Providence the principal patroness of Puerto Rico in 1969, and her feast there was fixed on November 19. Her image, showing Mary seated with her hands joined in prayer and the Child Jesus asleep on her lap, is beloved in Puerto Rican homes and parishes, and the Puerto Rican diaspora has carried the devotion to New York, Chicago, Florida and beyond.
Prayer to Mary, Mother of Divine Providence
From the Raccolta, indulgenced by Pope Leo XIII in 1886:
Immaculate Virgin Mary, Mother of Divine Providence, take possession of my soul with all the fullness of thy favour and protection. Govern thou my life, and direct it along the way of virtue to the fulfilment of the divine will. Do thou obtain for me the pardon of my sins; be my refuge, my protection, my defence, my guide in the pilgrimage of this life; console me in afflictions, sustain me in dangers, and in the storms of adversity afford me the security of thy guardianship. Obtain for me, O Mary, the renewal of my heart within me, so that it may become the holy dwelling place of thy divine Son Jesus; remove far from me, weak and miserable as I am, every kind of sin, negligence, sloth, timidity and human respect; entirely expel from me pride, vain glory, self-love, and all other earthly affections which hinder the efficacy of thy patronage. O sweetest Mother of Providence, turn thy maternal regard upon me, and if through frailty or malice I have provoked the menaces of the eternal Judge and embittered the most Sacred Heart of my loving Jesus, do thou throw over me the mantle of thy protection, and I shall be safe. Thou art the watchful Mother, the Virgin of forgiveness, and my hope on earth; oh, grant that I may have thee for the Mother of Glory in Heaven.
Then pray three Hail Marys.
A short prayer in time of need
Written for this page:
Mary, Mother of Divine Providence, you saw at Cana what was lacking before anyone asked.
You know my needs today: (name them).
Bring them to your Son, and teach me to trust that the Father’s providence will not fail me. Amen.
For material needs, see also the Catholic prayer for financial help.
How to keep the feast
- Attend Mass on November 19, especially in Puerto Rican communities, where the feast is celebrated with processions, music and parrandas.
- Pray the Raccolta prayer above, or a Rosary, for your family’s needs.
- Give thanks for the ways God has provided for you this year, a fitting prelude to Thanksgiving a week later.
- Help someone in need as an instrument of providence for them. See the works of mercy.
Frequently asked questions
When is the feast of Our Lady of Divine Providence?
November 19 in Puerto Rico and in many Puerto Rican communities elsewhere. The Barnabite Fathers and some other places keep a feast of Mary, Mother of Divine Providence, on a Saturday in November.
Who is the patron saint of Puerto Rico?
Our Lady of Divine Providence is the principal patroness of Puerto Rico. St. John the Baptist, after whom the capital San Juan is named, is also a patron of the island.
What is divine providence?
God’s wise and loving care for all creation, by which he guides everything toward its good and its final end. See the Catechism of the Catholic Church, nos. 302–314.
More Marian prayers
- Marian feast days
- Our Lady of Guadalupe (December 12)
- Our Lady of Good Counsel
- Memorare
- Hail Mary
- Catholic prayer for financial help
Texts and sources
- The Raccolta (English edition, 1910), no. 271, Prayer to Our Lady, Mother of Divine Providence (Leo XIII, 1886), public domain (archive.org).
- John 2:3 (Douay-Rheims).