While he and his cardinal brothers prepare to enter the conclave that will choose the next Pope, Cardinal Raymond Burke has invited all the faithful to join a “solemn novena of hope to Our Lady of Good Council”, to pray for the Universal Church, the world and the eternal rest of Pope Francis.
“I invite you to join with me, starting this May 1, in a novena to the mother of good advice to the many challenges we face in our homes, in our families, in society and in the same church,” said Cardinal Burke in A video message engraved at the beginning of April.
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The novena to Our Lady of Good Council, which will be prayed during the month of Mary, begins on May 1 and will culminate on May 9. It had been planned before the death of Pope Francis on April 21, but now he will include prayers for his eternal rest, in addition to the intentions for the good of the Church.
In statements to the National Catholic Register on April 25, Cardinal Burke stressed that “asking for the intercession of Our Lady of Good Council is especially important, given the crucial decisions that will be taken in the next days and weeks for the good of the Church and the entire world.”
The initiative follows the popular ninth of nine months to Our Lady of Guadalupe that Cardinal Burke promoted last year, and in which some 190,000 faithful prayed asking for the intercession of the Virgin Mary in front of “the darkness and sin that increasingly wraps to the world and threatens the Church”, as well as “the urgent crises of our time.”
The Cardinal has also asked those who participated in that novena who join this new day of prayer, offering their pleas especially “by the members of the Sacred College of Cardinals who, in the next conclave, will choose the successor of St. Peter as Vicar of Christ on Earth, pastor of the Universal Church”.
As in the previous initiative, the Catholic Action for Faith and Family organization coordinates the novena. Its founder and director, Thomas McKenna, warned that the new Pope “will face huge challenges.”
“We live difficult times,” McKenna said. “Our faith is challenged every day. And, as we know, our beloved Church faces serious crisis of faith and moral.”
Remembering that many faithful have moved away from the sacraments, that vocations have decreased and that marriages and baptisms have fallen dramatically, McKenna asked: “What do we do before so much despair? We pray, as we have always done, with hope.”
“This is especially relevant now,” he added, “not only for the next election of the new Pope and the current crises in the Church and the world, but also because the late Pope Francis proclaimed 2025 as the jubilee year of hope.”
McKenna explained that the novena, which will take place from May 1 to 9, “will take all the deep needs of the Church and our world to Christ through the lovely hands of Our Lady”, and will also be “a time of reflection on our lives and discernment for the way to follow.”
The faithful can Register to receive the daily prayers in English from Cardinal Burke during the novena, and also send their personal intentions to be included in the supplications.
“We offer our ninth of hope in a special way to Our Lady of Good Council, asking for wisdom and prudence to face the difficulties that afflict us, as well as the gift of advice to help others on their way to heaven,” said McKenna.
The ninth in the Sanctuary of Guadalupe
The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Guadalupe in La Crosse, Wisconsin (United States), founded by Cardinal Burke, also He has started his own ninth In preparation for the conclave. This novena began on April 26 and will run until May 5, and also has A prayer prepared in Spanish.
Translated and adapted by the ACI Press team. Originally published in the National Catholic Register.
Edward Pentin
Edward Pentin is a collaborator of the National Catholic Register and Vaticanist of Ewtn News. He began informing about the Pope and the Vatican on Radio Vaticana before becoming a correspondent in Rome for Ewtn. He has also informed about the Holy See and the Catholic Church for several other publications, including Newsweek, Newsmax, Zenit, The Catholic Herald and The Holy Land Review, a Franciscan publication specialized in the Church and the Middle East.