As the Solemn Novena to St. Ann enters its second century, the faithful will celebrate a message that “hope never fails” as they make their annual pilgrimage to West Scranton this week.
With its origins dating back to 1924, the 101st annual St. Ann’s Solemn Novena will begin Thursday at St. Ann’s Monastery and Shrine Basilica, continuing through July 26 with the Feast of St. Ann.
Each year, thousands travel each day to the Passionist monastery at 1239 St. Ann’s St. in reverence of the mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary as part of a tradition that started small but quickly grew into a massive religious pilgrimage.
In a conversation with his assistant, the Very Rev. Richard Burke, C.P., rector of St. Ann’s Monastery and Shrine Basilica, said they discussed how often they have heard people say they are looking for the novena this year and how much they need the novena this year.
“People really saying there’s lots of things that have to be prayed for in a very deep way,” Burke said.
The late Pope Francis declared 2025 as a jubilee year of hope, with an emphasis on living in hope, Burke said.
“He said, ‘We really need to pray and live in hope, even if we’re going to have to live in hope through turbulent times,’ ” Burke said.
As a result, clergy thought it would be an appropriate subject, prompting them to go through the Sacred Scripture to find people who lived in hope in their time and in their way, asking, “What lessons can they have for us living in hope for this time and this place?” Burke said.
That led to the “hope never fails” theme, he said, pointing to the natural disasters occurring nationally and “an awful lot of heartache” locally.
“There’s an awful lot of people in need here, right here, in Scranton and in the surrounding areas, and it certainly is going to be a focus of our prayer during novena,” Burke said.
Between 8,000 and 10,000 people attend the novena daily across its 10 days, many of whom visit each day. On weekends and during the last three days before the Feast of St. Ann on July 26, that number increases, culminating on the Feast Day where turnout nearly doubles, Burke said.
For those unable to attend, the novena is broadcast on television, radio and the internet.
“Hopefully, people will find a way to make it here,” Burke said.
Thus year, St. Ann’s will continue its annual tradition of holding 7:30 p.m. Masses and novenas in Spanish for Hispanic members of their Catholic Church community, he said.
“That’s just something that’s an outgrowth of the more recent waves of immigration into the United States,” Burke said. “I think they’re very grateful to be included.”
He compared it to holding past services in other languages, including Lithuanian, Slovak and Italian. This year, they will continue their tradition of holding a Polish Mass on St. Ann’s Feast Day.
“It’s how immigrants became enculturated into the country and became English speakers, and then their children became solely English speakers,” Burke said. “While they honored their heritage … they no longer speak the language, so there was no need anymore to have language services for those groups.”
He hopes the Spanish services will help the community move into a greater assimilation in the church.
Burke emphasized the importance of the Spanish services.
“I had people say, ‘Well, they should learn English,’ ” Burke recalled. “I said, ‘Well, they will, but they don’t know it right now.’ Does that mean you don’t do anything for their faith development until they learn English as one of the requirements? No, you can’t do that.”
As the basilica prepares for the novena’s first services on Thursday, Burke believes the theme of hope is especially relevant.
“I just think it’s going to be the right thing at the right time for a lot of people,” he said.