Prayer for kids

Prayer to Our Lady of Guadalupe

This prayer to Our Lady of Guadalupe is the one Saint John Paul II wrote in January 1979, on one of his first journeys as pope, to Mexico. It asks Mary to present our prayer to her Son Jesus, to protect our families and to bless our children. Many families pray it on her feast, December 12.

Our Lady of Guadalupe in a turquoise mantle with her hands joined, surrounded by golden rays above a hilltop

Prayer to Our Lady of Guadalupe

Pray together

O Immaculate Virgin, Mother of the true God and Mother of the Church! Thou, who from this place makest manifest thy mercy and thy compassion to all who seek thy protection; hear the prayer which with filial confidence we address to thee, and present it before thy Son Jesus, our only Redeemer.

Mother of mercy, Mistress of hidden and silent sacrifice, to thee, who comest to meet us sinners, we consecrate on this day all our being and all our love. We consecrate to thee also our life, our labors, our joys, our illnesses and our sorrows.

Grant peace, justice and prosperity to our peoples; since all that we have and all that we are we place under thy care, O Lady and Mother of ours.

We wish to be entirely thine and to walk with thee the path of a complete faithfulness to Jesus Christ in his Church: do not let go of us from thy loving hand.

Virgin of Guadalupe, Mother of the Americas, we beseech thee for all our bishops, that they may lead the faithful along the paths of an intense Christian life, of love and of humble service to God and to souls.

Behold this immense harvest, and intercede so that the Lord may instill a hunger for holiness in all the People of God, and grant abundant vocations of priests and religious, strong in faith and zealous dispensers of the mysteries of God.

Grant to our homes the grace to love and respect the life that is beginning, with the same love with which thou didst conceive in thy womb the life of the Son of God. Holy Virgin Mary, Mother of Fair Love, protect our families, that they may always be closely united, and bless the education of our children.

Our hope, look upon us with compassion, teach us to go ever to Jesus and, if we fall, help us to rise up and return to Him through the confession of our faults and sins in the sacrament of penance, which brings peace to the soul. We beseech thee to grant us a very great love for all the holy sacraments, which are as the footprints which thy Son left for us on earth.

Thus, Most Holy Mother, with the peace of God in our conscience, with our hearts free from evil and from hatred, we shall be able to bring to all true joy and true peace, which come from thy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, who with God the Father and the Holy Spirit, lives and reigns forever and ever. Amen.

The prayer of Saint John Paul II to Our Lady of Guadalupe (Mexico, January 1979), as EWTN publishes it in its Novena to the Virgin of Guadalupe.

Pray it with Clara at bedtime, in the Little Prayer Stories app.Get the app →

How families pray on December 12

December 12 remembers the day in 1531 when Mary’s picture appeared on Juan Diego’s tilma. In Mexico it’s one of the biggest feasts of the year. A few simple ways to keep it at home:

Bring her flowersSet roses, or flowers your child has drawn, by a picture of Mary, the way Juan Diego carried roses in his tilma.
Sing her Las MañanitasFamilies and parishes in Mexico sing Las Mañanitas to Our Lady early on the morning of December 12, like a birthday song.
Pray this prayer as a novenaMany novenas to Our Lady of Guadalupe end each of their nine days with this prayer. To finish on December 12, begin on December 4.
Go to Mass togetherMany children go dressed as Juan Diego, with flowers for Mary.

How to pray it with your child

1
Little ones: one line
For a small child, “Holy Virgin Mary, Mother of Fair Love, protect our families” is a whole prayer. Say it together, and read the rest yourself while they listen.
2
A paragraph a night
It’s a long prayer. Read one paragraph each night and talk about it: who are we asking Mary to help tonight?
3
Look at her picture first
Find a picture of Our Lady of Guadalupe and look for the golden stars on her mantle. Then tell the story of Juan Diego and the roses.

Questions parents ask

Who wrote this prayer?

Saint John Paul II, in January 1979, when he visited Mexico on one of his first journeys as pope. Years later, in 2002, he named Juan Diego a saint in Mexico City.

When is the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe?

December 12. It remembers the day in 1531 when her picture appeared on Juan Diego’s tilma, which is still kept in the Basilica of Guadalupe in Mexico City.

Is there a short prayer to Our Lady of Guadalupe for children?

Yes: “Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us,” followed by a Hail Mary. It’s a good prayer for every night of December.

More prayers for little ones

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Prayer to Our Lady of Guadalupe