Prayer:Prayer to St. Nicholas
Stored: Prayer to St. Nicholas
| Prayer to St. Nicholas | |
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| Author | Unknown |
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| Language | English |
| Approval | None |
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| Added on | 2026-08-13 |
Prayer to St. Nicholas is a traditional Catholic intercessory prayer addressed to Saint Nicholas of Myra, the fourth-century Bishop of Myra in Lycia (modern-day Turkey), renowned for his extraordinary charity, his miracles, and his tireless defense of the Faith. Venerated throughout both the Eastern and Western Church, St. Nicholas is among the most beloved saints in all of Christendom, and prayers seeking his intercession have been offered by the faithful for well over a millennium. This prayer asks the saint to intercede before Almighty God on behalf of those who are suffering poverty, danger, or spiritual peril.
The cult of St. Nicholas spread rapidly from the Christian East into Western Europe following the translation of his relics to Bari, Italy, in 1087, an event that gave rise to the great Basilica di San Nicola and sparked an explosion of devotion across the Latin Church. From sailors and merchants to children and the falsely accused, St. Nicholas has long been invoked as a powerful intercessor and heavenly patron by people of every station and walk of life. His feast day, celebrated on December 6, remains an occasion of great popular piety in many Catholic nations and communities.
This particular prayer reflects the Church's ancient confidence that the saints, glorified in Heaven and united with Christ, offer their prayers on behalf of the faithful still on pilgrimage on earth. In turning to St. Nicholas, the faithful imitate the example of countless generations of Christians who have found in this great bishop a ready friend and advocate before the throne of God.
The Prayer
O God, You made Blessed Nicholas glorious by countless miracles. Grant that by his prayers, we may be delivered from the fires of hell and saved from all adversity. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
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An Extended Traditional Prayer to St. Nicholas:
O holy Saint Nicholas, beloved of the Lord, you who were so filled with charity and compassion that your very name has become, across all the earth, a sign of generous giving and loving care — look upon us now in our need.
You who reached out in the darkness of night to save the poor from desperation, who rescued the innocent from unjust condemnation, who calmed the storm-tossed seas and brought sailors safely home to shore — intercede for us before the throne of God.
Obtain for us from Almighty God a heart as generous as your own, hands ready to give as you gave, and eyes to see in every suffering person the face of Christ our Lord.
Protect our children and all who are innocent, defend those who are falsely accused, shelter the poor and the lonely, and guide all those who are lost back to the safety of God's loving grace.
We ask this through your powerful intercession, trusting that you who gave so freely on earth will never cease to give in Heaven. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
History and Background
Saint Nicholas of Myra was born around 270 AD in Patara, in the Roman province of Lycia, and died circa 343 AD. He served as Bishop of Myra during a period of intense persecution and ecclesiastical turmoil, reportedly attending the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD, where he is said to have fervently defended orthodox Christology against the Arian heresy. His reputation for extraordinary generosity was established during his own lifetime through numerous acts of hidden charity, the most famous being his provision of dowries for three impoverished sisters, which he accomplished by secretly tossing bags of gold coins through their window at night — a story that lies at the root of many later customs associated with his name.
The miracles attributed to St. Nicholas are extraordinarily varied in character and reflect the breadth of his intercessory power as understood by the faithful. He is credited with raising three children from the dead, saving innocent men from execution by personally seizing the executioner's sword, stilling violent storms at sea, and multiplying grain during a famine to feed the starving people of Myra. Such accounts, transmitted through Greek hagiographic sources and later compiled in works such as the Golden Legend of Blessed Jacobus de Voragine, established Nicholas as one of the most versatile and widely invoked patron saints in the history of the Church.
The translation of his relics from Myra — then under Saracen control — to Bari in southern Italy in 1087 was a pivotal moment in the history of his cult. The sailors and merchants of Bari who undertook the translation believed they were performing a work of piety and protection, and the subsequent miracles at his tomb in Bari confirmed in the minds of the faithful that Nicholas remained as actively present and powerful in death as he had been in life. Pope Urban II consecrated the crypt of the new basilica in 1089, lending the full weight of papal authority to the Barian devotion. From Bari, his veneration spread to every corner of Catholic and Orthodox Christendom, and intercessory prayers to St. Nicholas became a staple of popular devotion from the British Isles to the steppes of Russia.
In the Roman Rite, the Collect for the feast of St. Nicholas — one of the oldest surviving liturgical prayers addressed to him — closely parallels the shorter form of the prayer given above, and demonstrates how deeply intercessory prayer to this great saint is woven into the official liturgical tradition of the Latin Church. His feast on December 6 falls during the season of Advent, a circumstance that has given his memory a particular resonance in the season of expectation and preparation for the Nativity of Our Lord.
How to Pray / Devotional Use
The Prayer to St. Nicholas may be prayed privately at any time, but is especially fitting on the following occasions:
- **The Feast of St. Nicholas (December 6):** Many Catholic families and parishes observe this day with special prayers, the giving of gifts to children, and charitable works performed in the saint's honor. Reciting this prayer on his feast day is an excellent way to seek his patronage for the coming Advent season and to ask his blessing upon children, families, and the poor.
- **The Season of Advent:** Because his feast falls within Advent, St. Nicholas is a particularly apt intercessor during this entire season of preparation, and his prayer may be incorporated into Advent devotions alongside the O Antiphons, the Rorate Coeli, or the Advent Wreath Prayer.
- **In times of financial difficulty or poverty:** St. Nicholas is the patron of the poor, and his prayer is powerfully suited to those who suffer economic hardship or who wish to cultivate greater generosity and charity.
- **For the protection of children:** As the special patron of children, St. Nicholas's intercession is traditionally sought for the safety, health, and spiritual well-being of young people. Parents may pray this prayer for their children, or include it in family night prayers during December.
- **For sailors, travelers, and those in danger:** Invoking St. Nicholas is an ancient practice among those who face physical peril, particularly at sea or on dangerous journeys.
- **For those falsely accused or unjustly imprisoned:** The tradition of St. Nicholas's intervention to save innocent men from unjust execution makes him a fitting patron to invoke on behalf of those facing false accusation or legal injustice.
The prayer is short enough to be memorized and may be combined with the recitation of a Glory Be or a Hail Mary offered for the saint's intentions. Some devotional guides recommend making an act of charity on the feast of St. Nicholas as a way of imitating his example and uniting one's prayer with concrete action in his spirit.