St. Nicholas, my special protector, from that bright throne where thou dost enjoy the vision of thy God, in pity turn thine eyes upon me; obtain for me from God that grace and assistance of which, in my present necessities, spiritual and temporal, I am most in want, and especially the grace of (name it), if such be expedient for my eternal welfare. Remember, moreover, O glorious and holy Bishop, our Sovereign Pontiff, the Holy Church, and this City of Rome. Bring back to the right way of salvation those who live steeped in sin or buried in the darkness of ignorance, error, and heresy. Comfort the sorrowing, provide for the needy, strengthen the weak-hearted, defend the oppressed, help the sick; let all experience the effects of thy powerful intercession with Him who is Supreme Giver of all good. Amen. Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory be. V. Pray for us, blessed Nicholas. R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ. Let us pray. O God, who hast honoured and ceasest not daily to honour thy glorious Confessor and Pontiff, blessed Nicholas, with innumerable miracles; grant, we beseech Thee, that by his merits and prayers we may be delivered from the fire of hell and from all other dangers. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Prayer to St. Nicholas of Bari
To the bishop the whole world knows by another name: 'comfort the sorrowing, provide for the needy, strengthen the weak-hearted, defend the oppressed, help the sick.'
On 6 December; for children, sailors and the poor; when giving in secret.
Nicholas was bishop of Myra in Lycia in the fourth century, and almost nothing else about him is documented. What is beyond doubt is the scale of his cult: more churches were dedicated to him in the Middle Ages than to any saint except the Virgin, and when sailors from Bari carried his relics off from Myra in 1087 the city built a basilica for them that has drawn pilgrims ever since — which is why the Raccolta calls him Nicholas 'of Bari'.
The story that made him famous is the dowries: three bags of gold thrown secretly through the window of a poor man about to sell his daughters. From that came the three gold balls of his emblem, the pawnbrokers' sign, the custom of secret gifts, and by a long road through the Low Countries, Sinterklaas and Santa Claus.
The prayer, indulgenced by Gregory XVI in 1832, asks him for exactly what the legend says he did: comfort, provision, defence, and help for the sick. The text is the Raccolta's of 1910.
Fifty days, once a day — Gregory XVI, 22 December 1832 (Raccolta, 1910, no. 331).
