Our Lady of Charity Parish in Buffalo will offer the Novena of Grace from Wednesday, March 4, through Thursday, March 12, at the St. Ambrose worship site at 65 Ridgewood Road.

In the Catholic tradition, a novena is a series of prayers offered over a set period of time. The Novena of Grace will be offered for nine days.

The Novena of Grace is in honor of St. Francis Xavier, who was born in 1501. He was among the first Jesuits and travelled as a missionary to India, Japan and to islands off the coast of China.

The Novena of Grace is a tradition of the former St. Agatha Parish which is now part of Our Lady of Charity Parish. The schedule for the Novena of Grace is:

On Wednesday, March 4, there will  Mass and novena prayers at 8:30 a.m. There will also be Mass and novena prayers at 7 p.m. Msgr. David M. Lee will be the presenter of a talk titled "What is the Significance of a Novena?"    

On Thursday, March 5, there will be Mass and novena prayers at 8:30 a.m. There will also be a 7 p.m. Mass and novena prayers. Msgr. David M. Lee will be the presenter of a talk titled, "St. Francis Xavier."

On Friday, March 6, there will be Mass and novena prayers at 8:30 a.m. There will also be Mass at 7 p.m., along with Stations of the Cross and novena prayers.

On Saturday, March 7, there will be Mass at 4 p.m., and novena prayers. On Sunday, March 8, at 10 a.m., there will be Mass and novena prayers. 

On Monday, March 9, there will be Mass and novena prayers at 8:30 a.m. There will also be Mass and novena prayers at 7 p.m. Title of the presentation will be "The Grace of Helping the Poor."  There will also be a commissioning of the members of the parish St. Vincent de Paul Society.

On Tuesday, March 10, there will be Mass and novena prayers at 8:30 a.m. There will also be Mass and novena prayers at 7 p.m., including a talk on "The Grace of Cursillo" by Deacon V. Gregory Moran.

On Wednesday, March 11, there will be Mass and novena prayers at 8:30 a.m.  Mass and novena prayers will also take place at 7 p.m., including a talk titled, "The Grace of Music on the Harp," with presenter Sue Suita.

On Thursday, March 12, there will be Mass and novena prayers at 8:30 a.m. Mass and novena prayers will also take place at 7 p.m. There will also be a talk titled, "The Grace of Mission" by Father Frederick Betti, SJ.

The Novena of Grace is open to all in the community.

Our Lady of Charity Parish is composed of members of the former St. Agatha, St. Ambrose and Holy Family parishes and has two worship sites. The St. Ambrose Worship Site is at 65 Ridgewood Road. The Holy Family Worship Site is at 1901 South Park Avenue at Tifft Street.

For more information call the parish office at 716-822-5962.