Santo Niño Novena: 9 Days of Prayer to the Holy Child

The Santo Niño, the Holy Child Jesus, is the heart of Filipino Catholic devotion. The small image of the Child Jesus that Magellan’s expedition brought to Cebu in 1521 is the oldest Christian image in the Philippines, and every January millions honor the Santo Niño at the Sinulog in Cebu, the Ati-Atihan in Kalibo, the Dinagyang in Iloilo and in parishes across the world. Below is a nine-day novena to the Santo Niño built on an old prayer to the Holy Childhood of Jesus, with the dates for the 2027 feast, prayers for children, families and the sick, and the story of the Santo Niño de Cebu.

When to pray the Santo Niño novena

The Feast of the Santo Niño is kept in the Philippines on the third Sunday of January. In 2027 the feast falls on Sunday, January 17, so a novena ending on the eve of the feast runs from Friday, January 8, to Saturday, January 16, 2027. In Cebu the novena Masses at the Basilica lead up to the fiesta in the same way. The novena may also be prayed at any time of need.

How to pray the novena

Each day:

Make the Sign of the Cross and name your intention.
Pray the opening prayer below.
Read the day’s prayer to the Holy Child. These invocations come from the devotion of the Mysteries of the Holy Childhood, approved by Pope Sixtus V in 1586, in the translation of The Raccolta (1910). After each one, answer: “Have mercy on us, Infant Jesus, have mercy on us,” and pray a Hail Mary.
Pray the closing prayer.
End with an Our Father, a Hail Mary and a Glory Be, and, if you wish, the acclamation “Viva Pit Señor!”

Opening prayer (every day)

Written for this page:

Santo Niño, Holy Child Jesus,
you became small and poor for love of us.
I come to you with trust, as a child comes to his (her) father.
Look on my family, my country and all who call on your name.
Hear the prayer I bring to you in this novena: (name your intention).
Grant it, if it is for the glory of God and the good of my soul. Amen.

Closing prayer (every day)

The prayer that ends the Mysteries of the Holy Childhood, from The Raccolta (1910):

Almighty and everlasting God, Lord of heaven and earth, who dost reveal thyself to little ones; grant, we beseech Thee, that we, duly honouring the holy mysteries of thy Son, the Infant Jesus, and daily imitating Him in our lives, may come to the kingdom of Heaven promised by Thee to little children. Through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Day 1: The Child conceived for our salvation

Jesu, sweetest Child, who didst come down from the bosom of the Father for our Salvation, who wast conceived by the Holy Ghost, who didst not abhor the Virgin’s womb, and, the Word made flesh, didst take upon Thee the form of a servant; have mercy upon us.

Intention: for all expectant mothers and for unborn children.

Day 2: The Child who visited Elizabeth

Jesu, sweetest Child, who, through thy Virgin Mother, didst visit Saint Elisabeth, and fill thy forerunner the holy Baptist with the Holy Ghost, sanctifying him whilst yet in his mother’s womb; have mercy upon us.

Intention: for families, that they may welcome Jesus into their homes.

Day 3: The Child born in Bethlehem

Jesu, sweetest Child, born in Bethlehem of Mary ever Virgin, swathed in rags, laid in the manger, announced by angels, visited by shepherds; have mercy upon us.

Intention: for the poor and the homeless, and for all who have no room.

Day 4: The Child who received the name of Jesus

Jesu, sweetest Child, wounded in thy circumcision the eighth day, called by the glorious Name of Jesus, and at once by thy Name and thy Blood foreshown as the Saviour of the world; have mercy upon us.

Intention: for reverence for the holy Name of Jesus, and for the newly baptized.

Day 5: The Child adored by the Magi

Jesu, sweetest Child, made known to the three Magi by a star, adored in the arms of thy Mother, presented with the mystic gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh; have mercy upon us.

Intention: for those who are searching for God, and for missionaries.

Day 6: The Child presented in the Temple

Jesu, sweetest Child, who wast presented in the Temple by thy Virgin Mother, who wast embraced by Simeon, and revealed to Israel by Anna the prophetess; have mercy upon us.

Intention: for the elderly and for all who wait faithfully for the Lord.

Day 7: The Child carried into Egypt

Jesu, sweetest Child, whom wicked Herod sought to slay, whom Joseph carried with Mary into Egypt, who wast taken from a cruel death and wast glorified by the blood of innocents; have mercy upon us.

Intention: for migrants, refugees and overseas Filipino workers far from home.

Day 8: The Child of Nazareth

Jesu, sweetest Child, who in the holy house at Nazareth didst remain subject to Mary and Joseph, didst dwell there most holily, wast wearied by poverty and labours, and didst advance in wisdom, age, and grace; have mercy upon us.

Intention: for children, that they may grow in wisdom, age and grace, and for parents and teachers.

Day 9: The Child found in the Temple

Jesu, sweetest Child, at twelve years old brought to Jerusalem, sought for by Mary and Joseph with sorrow, and found with joy after three days amongst the doctors; have mercy upon us.

Intention: for those who have lost their way, and for all who are searching for a lost loved one.

A prayer to the Santo Niño for children

Written for this page:

Santo Niño, you were once a little child in the arms of Mary.
Bless and protect our children (names).
Keep them healthy and safe, help them to grow in faith and goodness,
and never let them be separated from you. Amen.

A prayer to the Santo Niño for the sick

Holy Child Jesus, you touched the sick and made them well.
I bring before you (name), who is ill.
Strengthen him (her) in body and soul,
and give us all your peace. Amen.

This prayer was written for this page. See also the Catholic prayer for healing.

Scripture for the Santo Niño

For a CHILD IS BORN to us, and a son is given to us, and the government is upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called, Wonderful, Counsellor, God the Mighty, the Father of the world to come, the Prince of Peace.

And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject to them. And his mother kept all these words in her heart.
And Jesus advanced in wisdom, and age, and grace with God and men.

But Jesus said to them: Suffer the little children, and forbid them not to come to me: for the kingdom of heaven is for such.

The story of the Santo Niño de Cebu

In April 1521 the expedition of Ferdinand Magellan reached Cebu. Rajah Humabon, his wife and many of their people were baptized, and the queen, who took the Christian name Juana, received a small wooden image of the Child Jesus dressed as a king. Magellan was killed weeks later at Mactan, and the Spaniards left the island.

In 1565 the expedition of Miguel López de Legazpi arrived in Cebu. After a fire swept through a village, a soldier named Juan Camus found the image of the Holy Child unharmed in a burned house. The Augustinian friars built a church on the spot, now the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño, where the image is still kept and venerated. It is the oldest surviving Christian image in the Philippines.

The devotion spread throughout the country. Filipinos dress images of the Santo Niño in royal robes, carry them in processions and keep them in their homes and businesses. The great January fiestas, with their dances and the cry “Pit Señor!” (“Call on the Lord!”), all honor the Holy Child. The devotion is closely related to that of the Infant Jesus of Prague, whose image is also dressed as a little king.

Frequently asked questions

When is the Feast of the Santo Niño?

On the third Sunday of January in the Philippines. In 2027 it is Sunday, January 17.

When should I start the Santo Niño novena?

Nine days before the feast: for 2027, begin on Friday, January 8, and finish on Saturday, January 16.

What does “Pit Señor” mean?

It comes from the Cebuano “sangpit sa Señor,” “call on the Lord.” Devotees shout “Pit Señor!” during the Sinulog as a prayer to the Santo Niño.

Is the Santo Niño the same as the Infant of Prague?

Both are images of the Child Jesus dressed as a king, and both express devotion to the Holy Childhood of Jesus. The Santo Niño de Cebu came to the Philippines in 1521; the Infant of Prague is a Spanish image given to the Carmelites of Prague in 1628.

More novenas

Texts and sources

Invocations and closing prayer: Mysteries of the Holy Childhood (Sixtus V, 1586), The Raccolta, or Collection of Indulgenced Prayers and Good Works (London: Burns and Oates, 1910), no. 75, public domain (archive.org).
Scripture: Isaias (Isaiah) 9:6; Luke 2:51–52; Matthew 19:14, Douay-Rheims Bible (Challoner), public domain.
The opening prayer, intentions and the other prayers were written for this page.