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The Christian life is a pilgrimage: a journey out of darkness and into the radiant light of Christ. Each September, under the patronage of St. Michael the Archangel, the canons of St. Michael’s Abbey invite the faithful to walk with them in a novena of prayer leading to his feast day.
This novena is more than nine days of devotion. It is a spiritual pilgrimage, step by step, toward the altar of God. Along the way, we call upon the powerful intercession of our great patron, St. Michael, to defend the Church, strengthen us in battle, and lead us more deeply into the victory of Christ. He is the Prince of the Heavenly Host, the defender of souls, and before the Throne of God he intercedes for us with angelic might.
At the abbey, this truth is revealed in a visible sign: each year on Michaelmas, during Solemn Vespers, a ray of sunlight floods the altar at the Magnificat. It is a proclamation that Christ’s triumph conquers the darkness — and that the light of His victory, won and guarded by St. Michael and the holy angels, is poured out for us in the sacraments.
To accompany this year’s novena, St. Michael’s Abbey is offering a special holy card, blessed by Fr. Abbot Eugene.
On one side is a sacred image of St. Michael the Archangel; on the other, the official Novena Prayer prayed daily by the priests and seminarians of the abbey.
This card is more than a devotional aid. It is a sign of our common effort — a tangible way of uniting your prayers with those offered before the altar at the abbey.
Fill out the adjacent request form to receive your prayer card by mail.
• Final request date: September 17, 2025
• Delivery: Mailed in time to arrive before the novena begins
• Note: By requesting the holy card, you will also be enrolled in the Michaelmas Novena email program, receiving each day’s reflection directly in your inbox.
For centuries, Christians have gone on pilgrimages to holy places, seeking grace and conversion. The Michaelmas Novena is such a pilgrimage — not measured in miles, but in prayer.
Each day, led by Fr. Ambrose Criste and the entire abbey community, we ask God for a specific grace: to recognize the darkness, to turn back in conversion, to walk under angelic protection, to persevere with zeal, and finally to radiate Christ’s light into the world.
Our destination is the altar of God, where Christ’s victory over sin and death is renewed in the Eucharist. The journey culminates on the Feast of St. Michael (Sept. 29), when Solemn Vespers fills the abbey church with chant, incense, and a glorious sign: the rose window’s light falling directly upon the altar.
This is the goal of our novena. This is our pilgrimage into the Light.
The pilgrimage culminates at Solemn Vespers on the Feast of St. Michael (Sept. 29). At the Magnificat, the abbey church is bathed in heavenly light as the rose window shines upon the altar. Together, the canons and the faithful recite the renewal of consecration to St. Michael the Archangel.
Whether you can travel to the abbey or not, you are invited to join us. Participate in this moment of grace either in person or by livestream, united with pilgrims around the world.
By signing up for this Novena, you will automatically receive the link to pray Vespers with us live.
Go to the Livestream PageThis year, for the first time, St. Michael’s Abbey is offering a virtual Day of Recollection as a special gift to the members of the Abbot’s Circle — our closest friends whose faithful prayer and generosity make possible the life and mission of the abbey.
On Friday, September 19, 2025, the eve of the Michaelmas Novena, Fr. Ambrose Criste, O.Praem., will guide participants through a few hours of prayer and reflection on the mystery and mission of the angels. The program will include:
A Day of Recollection is a spiritual pause — a brief but meaningful time set apart to listen more closely to God, rekindle your fervor, and prepare your soul to receive grace more fruitfully. By offering this retreat online, we hope to make it possible for as many of our friends as possible to participate, no matter where they live.
The Day of Recollection will be made available on September 19, but you may enter into it at any time during the novena, taking it at your own pace as part of your pilgrimage.
If you are already a member of the Abbot’s Circle, this retreat is our heartfelt gift of gratitude to you.
If you are not yet a member, we warmly invite you to join this circle of friends and share in this first-time offering.
Join the Abbot's Circle to ParticipateAs the novena draws to its close, join us in person for a joyful evening of prayer and festivity at the abbey in support of the seminarians.
Learn more and RSVP for the Michaelmas Eve CelebrationVespers is open to all but the dinner after requires a pre-paid ticket. Please note that this event is on the 28th, the evening before the September 29th Feast Day.
This year’s novena is also featured in partnership with the Hallow App, as part of their St. Michael’s Lent program. For those who use Hallow, you can follow the novena reflections in audio format inside the app
Learn more about HallowThe Michaelmas Novena is part of something greater — the living stream of prayer and mission flowing from St. Michael’s Abbey.
Each day, the Norbertine canons labor at the altar and in their apostolic ministries, and the Abbot’s Circle website exists to share the fruits of that life with the wider Church.
On the site, you’ll find:
The Abbot’s Circle is not a program or subscription you join here — it is an ongoing offering of spiritual riches, a place where the faithful can draw closer to Christ and remain united to the life of the abbey.
The Abbot’s Circle is not a program or subscription you join here — it is an ongoing offering of spiritual riches, a place where the faithful can draw closer to Christ and remain united to the life of the abbey.
The Abbot’s Circle is no longer just a circle of friends — it has become a movement. A movement of Catholics who believe the Church needs holy priests: men ready to sacrifice, to preach the truth without compromise, and to bring Christ into the darkest corners of the world.
By joining, you link your life and prayer with the canons of St. Michael’s Abbey and take part in their mission to renew the Church from within.
From this movement has come one of our most important works: the Evermode Institute — a flagship program created to form Catholic teachers and leaders with the truths of the faith. While built for schools and dioceses, we open it to members of the Abbot’s Circle, because you are our closest family and the reason this renewal is possible.
This is your invitation to step into something greater. Not just to watch the renewal of the Church — but to make it happen.
Join the Abbot's CircleDecree
The Apostolic Penitentiary, for the increase of religion among the faithful, and for the salvation of souls, in virtue of the faculties granted it in a most special measure by our Most Holy Father, the Lord Francis, by Divine Providence Pope, having attended to the petition recently brought to us from the Right Reverend Eugene J. Hayes, O.Praem. Abbot of Saint Michael’s Abbey in Silverado, of the diocese of Orange in California, kindly grants from the heavenly treasuries of the Church a plenary indulgence to be gained by each and every Christian, and which may be applied by way of suffrage also to the souls of the faithful detained in Purgatory, as long as being truly repentant, having confessed and been refreshed by holy communion, they devoutly visit the abbatial church itself in pilgrimage, and there are present at the solemn rites on the 29th of September, the solemnity the archangels Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael (i.e. from First Vespers on the 28th to midnight on the 29th) or at least for a period of time piously meditate there concluding with the Lord’s Prayer, the Creed, and invocations to the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the archangels Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael.
The faithful who are impeded by old age, sickness, or some other serious cause are able to obtain the plenary indulgence if, having a detestation of any sin whatever, and intending as soon as possible to fulfill the three usual conditions (i.e. confession, communion, and prayer for the intentions of the Supreme Pontiff within twenty days), they join themselves spiritually to the celebrations and pilgrimages of the others, having offered to the merciful God their prayers, sufferings, and particular difficulties.
This Penitentiary earnestly asks that the fathers of the White and Canonical Order of Prémontré offer themselves with a prompt and generous spirit for the celebration of Penance so that access to obtaining divine pardon through the keys of the Church may be easier in a spirit of pastoral charity.
The present decree is to remain valid for seven years, notwithstanding anyone doing anything whatsoever to the contrary.
Given at Rome, from the halls of the Apostolic Penitentiary, the 29th of the month of September, the solemnity of the Archangels Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, in the 2023rd year of the Lord’s Incarnation
Mauro Cardinal Piacenza, Major Penitentiary
Christopher Nykiel, Regent
The Abbot's Circle is a first-of-its-kind virtual monastery—an evolving, curated library that offers an inside look at the artistic, cultural, intellectual, and spiritual work that the Norbertines of St. Michael’s Abbey carry out each day for the praise and honor of God.
Hidden in the stillness of southern California’s desert mountains, St. Michael’s Abbey goes about a timeless and supernatural mission: the common worship of God. This is a place for all to encounter the unfathomable beauty of God and to enter into the mystery of His unrelenting love.
Against a culture in ever desperate need for beauty, St. Michael’s Abbey stands as a refuge for reverent liturgy, inspiring art, and captivating sacred music and chant. Through our work, we are laying the foundation for the sanctification of our society and a renewal in our Church.
