A novena is a Christian devotion, characteristic of Roman Catholicism, consisting of prayers repeated over nine successive days, or on nine occasions, for a particular intention, whether petition for a specific need, preparation for a feast, or thanksgiving. The word comes from the Latin for nine, and the number is traditionally connected with the nine days the apostles and Mary are described as spending in prayer between Christ's Ascension and the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, taken as the scriptural model of a set period of persevering, expectant prayer. Novenas are addressed to God, often through the intercession of Mary or a particular saint associated with the need in question, and each usually has its own fixed set of prayers.
The devotion embodies the Christian teaching on persevering prayer, the insistence, drawn from Christ's parables, that one should ask repeatedly and not lose heart, giving that perseverance a defined, achievable shape of nine days that a worshipper can undertake and complete.