ST. ANNE NOVENA PAGE
St. Anne's Catholic Church /
The National Shrine of St. Anne
230 North 6th Avenue
St. Anne, IL 60964
(815) 427-8265
Catholic Conversations on Catholic Spirit Radio - a Podcast with Paul Garcia about the St. Anne Novena from July 17-25, 2024 and the Feast Day on July 26, 2024. First Broadcast on June 22, 2024.
Welcome to Catholic Conversations on Catholic Spirit Radio! I'm your host, Paul Garcia. Today, we're honored to have Father Pete Jankowski from St. Anne's Catholic Church in St. Anne, Illinois, and St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Momence, Illinois. Father Pete is also a theology teacher at St. Francis University in Illinois. Join us as Father Pete shares exciting updates about the upcoming 138th annual St. Anne Novena and its rich history.
The St. Anne Novena is a nine-day period of prayer leading up to the Feast of St. Anne on July 26th. This tradition, which began in the 1850s, includes venerating a relic of St. Anne, the mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary and grandmother of Jesus. Father Pete recounts the history of the relic and its journey from France to St. Anne, Illinois, and shares miraculous stories of healing associated with it.
Father Pete emphasizes the significance of faith, prayer, and community in experiencing God's grace. He invites everyone to participate in the Novena Masses from July 17th to 25th and the special events on July 26th, including Masses in English, Latin, and Spanish, processions, and activities for all ages.
Tune in to hear inspiring stories and learn more about the spiritual and historical importance of the St. Anne Novena. Discover how this event brings people together in faith and devotion, offering a unique opportunity to encounter God's love and grace.
2024 ST. ANNE NOVENA
2024 ST. ANNE NOVENA
ONLINE MASSES PLUS...
Nightly Masses (Except Sunday) from July 17-25 at 7:00 p.m.
in St. Anne's Pavilion, weather permitting (otherwise indoors)
This year's 2024 Novena and Feast Day will focus on TEN FAMILIES who often are not remembered in the faith but make a significant difference in their experience of faith, an experience that we should not take for granted.
2024 St. Anne Novena
Over Six Hundred Souls from around the area (and beyond!) participated in this year's festivities. Much thanks to Bishop Christopher Glancy, CSV for celebrating the 10:00 a.m. Outdoor Mass and for Fr. Moises Mesh, CSV for celebrating the 2:00 p.m. Mass in Spanish indoors. Thanks to our wonderful volunteers who made this year's devotion a wonderful success!
The FIRST Day of the 2024 St. Anne Novena
(Married Couple Ss. Priscilla & Aquila)
Wednesday - July 17, 2024
Today's Mass focuses on the saints Priscilla & Aquila, a married, tent-making couple that welcomed St. Paul into their home and helped St. Paul in his ministry. St. Priscilla may very well have been the first woman evangelist after the Lord's death and resurrection; according to tradition, both Priscilla and Aquila died a martyr's death.
The SECOND Day of the 2024 St. Anne Novena (and Parents Ss. Zechariah & Elizabeth)
Thursday - July 18, 2024
Today's Mass focuses on the saints Zechariah and Elizabeth, who briefly are mentioned in the first chapter of Luke's gospel and "recede" (as does their son, St. John the Baptist) as a precursor to the coming of the incarnate Son of God.
The THIRD Day of the 2024 St. Anne Novena (and Parents St. Joseph and the BVM)
Friday - July 19, 2024
Although we focus on the story of the Jesus' parents and the Lord's Nativity every Advent and Christmas Season, our focus on the Lord's father on earth has not received the kind of attention that his wife has received. That said, within the last two hundred years, the life of St. Joseph has inspired bishops and popes alike to amend that error and give honor to the unheralded parents that often reflect the love we need to show our parents and grandparents today. Fr. Pete's homily on this third novena day highlights the importance of what BOTH of Jesus' parents have given to us in the world of faith.
The FOURTH Day of the 2024 St. Anne Novena (and Parents Ss. Isidore the Farmer & Maria)
Saturday - July 20, 2024
Considering this Novena takes place in a rural area that Pope Francis may very well call the "peripheries" of the Joliet Diocese, Fr. Pete talks about the role that St. Isidore the Farmer and his wife Maria played in serving the needs of the farming community in Madrid, Spain during the 11th Century and the importance of carrying that same type of blessing to our farmers one thousand years later.
The FIFTH Day of the 2024 and
the 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time
St. Anne Novena (St. Bernadette)
Sunday - July 21, 2024
Focusing on the life of St. Bernadette Soubirous (1844-1879), Fr. Pete’s homily today focuses on the child-like innocence that must serve as a person’s disposition to encounter the Lord. Fr. Pete reflects on the children of the world who live in this innocence and the adults in the world that sometimes forget to see this gift which is the main way to open the doors to heaven. Fr. Pete concludes his homily with reading St. Bernadette’s “testament of faith,” one that exposes both Bernadette’s suffering and her endearing holiness.
The SIXTH Day of the 2024 St. Anne Novena
(and parents Ss. Louis & Zélie Martin) Monday, July 22, 2024
Today's Mass focuses on the only couple in the Catholic Church who were canonized together as husband in wife, Ss. Louis &
Zélie Martin. Fr. Pete talks about the importance in this Mass about God and family, an institution called "the domestic Church," one that should be embraced, not vilified, especially in regard to the stay-at-home parent.
SEVENTH Day of the 2024 St. Anne Novena
(and Lucinda, Francesco & Lucia - the Children of Fatima) Tuesday - July 23, 2024
Prior to every Mass, many faithful from our Border Town Parishes pray the Holy Rosary on behalf of the sick, the dead and those who have asked for special prayers. In his homily, Fr. Pete speaks about the special prayer recited at the end of each decade of the rosary, the "Fatima Prayer" for those most in need of God's mercy... which is us!!!
The EIGHTH Day of the 2024 St. Anne Novena
(and the Children of Medjugorje)
Wednesday - July 24, 2024
God appears to communicate most directly with the children of the world, as the childlike possess a type of innocence often lost when a person grows older. Fr. Pete references all the children who have experienced the apparitions (including St. Bernadette, the three children of Fatima as well as the six children who are the subject of the homily at this Mass. Fr. Pete also references Carlo Acutis, the soon-to-be patron saint of the internet who died at the age of fifteen in 2007, the first millennial saint of the Church.
NINTH/Last Day of the 2024 St. Anne Novena (and St. James and His Mother St. Salome)
Thursday - July 25, 2024
This last day of the Novena focuses on an apostle and his mother, two individuals with their shortcomings, as we all have. Finding that strength given to them by the Holy Spriit as the Lord's resurrection, what St. James offered the people of Spain, Medjugorje and the faithful of today's age is a sign of strength that all of us need to persevere and recognize our true purpose in life - it is all about God, loving our God and loving our neighbor in God's name.
The Feast Day of St. Anne (the Patroness of Our Church) Friday - July 26, 2024
On this feast day of the Patroness of this community whose name is attached to the city, Fr. Pete offers a homily on the tradition that presents us with the St. Anne story and the thesis that without the mother, there can be no son (or daughter). So many mothers serve as the "moral compasses" in our society. During this Mass, we honor Good Ste. Anne, the Blessed Mother and all the mothers of our Catholic tradition who have made the necessary sacrifices for the betterment of their families.
2023 St. Anne Novena
Julie Dillenburg was kind enough to take pictures for this year's event. Thanks to Fr. Jason Nesbit, CSV (Homilist a the 10:00 Mass), Fr. Moises Mesh, CSV (Presider and Homilist at the 2:00 Spanish Mass), Fr. John Peeters, CSV, Fr. John Horan and Fr. Michael Powell for joining us at this celebration. Thanks to everyone who helped make this event such a spirit-filled one for the 500+ faithful who came with us to pray!
RESOURCES - ST. ANNE NOVENA
2023 ST. ANNE NOVENA
The First Day of the 2023 St. Anne Novena (and Grandmother Carmella Cosenza) Monday - July 17, 2023
On this FIRST day of the 2023 Novena, today's Mass focuses on Fr. Pete Jankowski's grandmother, Maria Carmela Cosenza (1911-2010), an immigrant from Cosenza, Italy who shared her love of family and faith with a "domestic Church" that started their life anew in the New World. "Eternal rest grant unto her, O Lord, and let your perpetual light shine upon her..."
The Second Day of the 2023 St. Anne Novena (and Grandmother Edwina Vincent)
Tuesday - July 18, 2023
Today's Mass focuses on Edwina Vincent, grandmother and secretary at St. Paul the Apostle Church in Sandwich, IL. Along with her maintenance husband Bill, Edwina has served that "peripheral community" (as Pope Francis might call it) for most of her life and the life of her family. Like other pillars like her in local parish communities, Edwina serves as the "doorway" through which parishioners encounter the first face of God at a Catholic parish. God bless Bill and Edwina and all those who dedicate their lives to their families, communities, Churches and certainly God.
The Third Day of the 2023 St. Anne Novena (and Grandmother Ellen Fischer)
Wednesday - July 19, 2023
The focus of this day's homily is on grandmother Ellen Fischer, who faithfully served the parishioners of St. Paul the Apostle Church while raising her children in Joliet. Ellen was such a positive influence at St. Paul's and, with staff Lillian Cepon, Ray Kaufmann and Bill Parker, served as models of compassion during the heyday of this parish's history.
The Fourth Day of the 2023 St. Anne Novena (and Grandmother Sue Cordano)
Thursday - July 20, 2023
The focus of this day's homily is on grandmother Sue Cordano, who, with husband Don Cordano (1934-2015), was part of Fr. Pete's daily breakfast crowd during the first twenty years of his priesthood. Dauter Marisue Grabavoy reflects on the manner in which mother, grandmother and great-grandmother Sue took care of husband Don throughout their marriage (and end of life cancer treatments) in a type of "love letter" that she writes about the matriarch of her family.
The Fifth Day of the 2023 St. Anne Novena (and Grandmother Cathy Weinberg)
Friday - July 21, 2023
Today's Mass focuses on Cathy Weinberg, whose sacrifices made during her forty year marriage to husband Jim and their three daughters served as a model of faith that Fr. Pete remembers some fifteen years ago. Fr. Pete had the honor of celebrating the wedding Mass for two of her three daughters and spent many nights in the Weinberg home sharing stories of faith with Jim and Cathy
Sixth Day of the 2023 St. Anne Novena
(and Grandmother Evangelina Hernandez) Saturday - July 22, 2023
Today's Mass focuses on Evangelina Hernandez, who symbolized the "heart" of her family and the heart of the St. Patrick's Community in Joliet. She and her husband Rafael helped start the Hispanic Ministry at St. Patrick's Church in Joliet, building a community from its initial phases to one of the largest communities in the city based on two words that help build parish Churches - "Bienvenidos" and "Hospitalized" - "Welcome" and "Hospitality,"
16th Sunday in OT Mass
(and 7th Day of the St. Anne Novena)
at St. Anne's Church - St. Anne, IL
The inspiration for this ten-part reflection series on grandmothers of the faith came from Facebook reflections by Tom Jagodzinski about his own mother Genevieve, who passed away in 2017. Fr. Pete reflected on Tom's memories and his own about this grandmother; Gen reminded Fr. Pete about so many other grandmothers who have modeled this life of grace, prompting these series of homilies about this under appreciated women of faith who followed the example of the grandmother NOT mentioned in the bible, Good St. Anne (the grandmother of Jesus).
Eighth Day of the 2023 St. Anne Novena
(and Grandmother Joanne Hermann) Monday - July 24, 2023
On this EIGHTH day of the Novena, Joanne Hermann represents a whole slew of wonderful mothers and grandmothers who have supported a "periphery" Church of the Joliet Diocese which might not be appreciate in the larger diocesan framework but is "home" for Joanne and generations of her family, as the Church has been for so many others. Much thanks to all those parents who, similarly to Joanne and husband John, for their dedication and love for their local parish community.
Ninth/Last Day of the 2023 St. Anne Novena (and Grandmother "Cookie" Schroeder)
Tuesday - July 25, 2023
Outside the St. Anne Pavilion
There are many ways to sacrifice for the cause of the faith. On this NINTH and LAST Day of the Novena, we focus on St. James the first apostle who died as a martyr for Christ. There are other types of martyrs in this world. Today's homily focuses on St. Anne Parishioner Linda "Cookie" Schroeder who, after fifty plus years of marriage raising the children and grandchildren, now faces the task of caring for a husband who suffers from incurable illnesses. Cookie's example of faith and dedication to her husband serves as a model by which each of us should live our Christian life in the name of God.
The Feast Day of St. Anne (and Grandmother Ruth Sparenberg) Wednesday - July 26, 2023
On this Feast Day of St. Anne for 2023, we focus on Nonagenarian Ruth Sparenberg, one of the brightest lights in the sea of stars. Ruth's quiet and loving demeanor serves as a model for anyone wishing to live a Christian vocation. Much thanks to all ten grandmothers who were the focus of these homilies - Fr. Pete has benefitted from their respective examples of faith and we pray that you do as well!!!
2023 St. Anne Novena
Julie Dillenburg was kind enough to take pictures for this year's event. Thanks to Fr. Jason Nesbit, CSV (Homilist a the 10:00 Mass), Fr. Moises Mesh, CSV (Presider and Homilist at the 2:00 Spanish Mass), Fr. John Peeters, CSV, Fr. John Horan and Fr. Michael Powell for joining us at this celebration. Thanks to everyone who helped make this event such a spirit-filled one for the 500+ faithful who came with us to pray!
Mass on the Feast of St. Anne
at St. Anne’s Church & National Shrine
(July 26, 2022)
In his homily, Fr. Pete references a poem to "The Mother of the Madonna," by Rev. Matthew Russell, SJ, the first editor of "The Irish Monthly" periodical that reflects on the role of grandmothers in our life. Fr. Pete offers a special "Prayer for Special Favor" and a "Blessing to Grandparents" at this Online Mass as well.
2022 St. Anne Novena
Julie Dillenburg was kind enough to take pictures for this year's event. Thanks to Fr. Jason Nesbit, CSV (Homilist a the 10:00 Mass), Fr. Moises Mesh, CSV (Presider and Homilist at the 2:00 Spanish Mass), Fr. John Peeters, CSV, Fr. John Horan and Fr. Michael Powell for joining us at this celebration. Thanks to everyone who helped make this event such a spirit-filled one for the 500+ faithful who came with us to pray!
Novena Video Masses for 2022
2021 St. Anne Novena
Here are the highlights of the THREE Masses and activities that took place on St. Anne's Feast Day at the First National Shrine in the United States - St. Anne's Church in St. Anne, IL. Thanks to Bob Thompson for the pics and to Fr. Jason Nesbit, CSV (Homilist at the 10:00 Mass), Fr. Don Wehnert, CSV, Fr. Moises Mesh, CSV and Fr. John Peeters, CSV (Homilist at the 2:00 Mass) for joining us at this celebration. Thanks to everyone who helped make this event such a spirit-filled one for the 500+ faithful who prayed with us!!!
Fr. Pete’s Homily for the Feast of St. Anne
at St. Anne’s Church & National Shrine
(July 26, 2021)
This is the homily that Fr. Pete offered at the Traditional Latin Mass on St. Anne's Feast Day inside the church building - July 26, 2021
Traditional Latin Mass in the
Extraordinary Form for the St. Anne's
July 26, 2021
For the sake of those who pray in the Extraordinary Form (and with special permission), Fr. Pete celebrates the Latin Mass on the Feast of St. Anne - July 26, 2020
Novena Video Masses for 2021
St. Anne's Day Homily in English
(11:00 a.m.) - July 26, 2020
This is the Homily that Fr. Pete offered at the Outdoor Novena Mass in Honor of St. Anne (in ENGLISH) on July 26, 2020.
Homilía del Día de Santa Ana en Inglés
(11:00 a.m.) - 26 Julio 2020
This is the Homily that Fr. Pete offered at the Outdoor Novena Mass in Honor of St. Anne (in SPANISH) on July 26, 2020.
Online Mass for the Feast of St. Anne
July 26, 2020
This is the Online Mass that Fr. Pete offered at
St. Anne's Church for July 26, 2020.
