Novena to St. Peter - Prayer in Thanksgiving and Petition for the Pope

A good priest brother sent this my way. It is a novena (a prayer said for nine days) whose intention you will find immediately below. It begins on Ash Wednesday and ends, delightfully, on the Feast of the Chair of St. Peter-- the feast day in which we celebrate the Lord granting, raising up, and guaranteeing great powers of teaching, governance, and sanctification to His Steward, Peter, the first Pope, and his successors.

Novena to St. Peter, Apostle

In thanksgiving to God for the pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI,
for the Sacred College of Cardinals who will name his successor, and for the Church.

Beginning on 13 February ending on 21 February,

the vigil of the Feast of the Chair of St. Peter, Apostle.

+In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

O Holy Apostle, because you are the Rock upon which Almighty God has built His church; obtain for me I pray you, lively faith, firm hope and burning love; complete detachment from myself, contempt of the world, patience in adversity, humility in prosperity, recollection in prayer, purity of heart, a right intention in all my works, diligence in fulfilling the duties of my state of life, constancy in my resolutions, resignation to the will of God and perseverance in the grace of God even unto death; that so, by means of your intercession and your glorious merits, I may be worthy to appear before the chief and eternal Shepherd of souls, Jesus Christ, Who with the Father and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns for ever. Amen.

Litany of St. Peter, Prince of the Apostles

NOTE: This litany is approved for private devotion and prayer.

Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
Christ, hear us. Christ, graciously hear us.

God the Father of Heaven, Have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world, Have mercy on us.
God the Holy Ghost, Have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, One God, Have mercy on us.

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us.

Queen conceived without Original Sin, pray for us.

Queen of Apostles, pray for us.

Saint Peter, pray for us.

Prince of the Apostles, pray for us.

St. Peter, to whom were given the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, pray for us.

St. Peter, so ardent for the glory of Christ, pray for us.

St. Peter, whose heart was pierced with one look from Jesus, pray for us.

St. Peter, who ceased not to grieve for having denied the Son of God,
pray for us.

St. Peter, whose cheeks were furrowed by a stream of tears which flowed to the end of thy life, pray for us.

St. Peter; who cried out, “Lord, Thou knowest that I love Thee,” pray for us.

St. Peter, bound in chains for Christ, pray for us.

St. Peter, delivered from prison by an Angel, pray for us.

St. Peter, who rejoiced to suffer for Christ, pray for us.

St. Peter, whose very shadow healed the sick, pray for us.

St. Peter, whose voice even the dead obeyed, pray for us.

St. Peter, that we may have a constant and mutual charity among ourselves, pray for us.

That we may taste and see more and more how sweet is the Lord, pray for us.

That we may be zealous in loyalty to thy successor, the present Vicar of Christ, pray for us.

That we may help, at least by prayer, to restore to the unity of thy Holy See the scattered sheep, pray for us.

That we may be prudent and watchful in prayer, pray for us.

That we may die the death of the just, pray for us.

V. Let the mercies of the Lord give glory to him,
R. And His wonderful works to the children of men.
V. Pray for us, Saint Peter the Rock,
R. That we may be worthy of the Vicar of Christ.

Let Us Pray: O Lord Jesus Christ, Who upon blessed Peter, Thine Apostle, didst bestow the pontifical power of binding and loosing, and didst give to him the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, grant that his intercession may ensure our deliverance from the bondage of sin, Thou Who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

Appended Novena Prayers for the Holy Father:

Each day of this Novena pray: 1 Our Father, 3 Hail Marys, & 1 Glory Be.

V:   Let us pray for our Pope Benedict.

R:   May the Lord preserve him, and give him life, and make him blessed

upon the earth, and deliver him not up to the will of his enemies.

V.   Thou art Peter,

R.   And upon this Rock, I will build My Church.

Let us Pray: Almighty and everlasting God, have mercy upon your servant, Benedict, our Sovereign Pontiff, and guide him in your goodness on the way of eternal salvation; so that, with the prompting of your grace,  he may desire what pleases you and accomplish it with all his strength. Through Christ Our Lord. Amen.

V. Mother of the Church,            R. Pray for us.
V. St. Peter,                               R. Pray for us.

+In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.