THE ARCH CONFRATERNITY OF TOLENTINO
The famous Augustinian, Saint Nicholas of Tolentine fostered a profound
devotion of prayer for the faithful departed: so much so that he has merited, by the Church, the title "Patron Saint of the
Souls in Purgatory". He strongly encouraged the practice of having Masses Offered for the souls in Purgatory.
Further, it is to him that the Augustinian Tradition attributes the great devotion of the "Septinarium": the seven days of
prayer for the dead.
FIRST DAY
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.
St. Nicholas, Patron of the Holy Souls,
Pray for us
O good Jesus, mystically present upon our altars, renewing the oblation
of Calvary for the sake of our salvation, we kneel in silence before thee, as Mary and John and Thy Blessed mother knelt in
the silence of that awful moment when the Angel of Dead spread his wings around the cross. We come to plead with Thee
while our thoughts follow Thee down from Calvary to the prisons where the Holy Souls waited through the years of Thy coming.
We plead, dear Jesus, for the for the release of the poor souls now detained
in the prisons of purgatory. We plead through the memory of that moment when Thy agonizing Heart ceased to beat on the
cross. We plead through the merits of the angels that serve Thee, through the merits of the Saints who surround Thee,
through the merits of Saint Nicholas of Tolentine, the efficacy of whose great charity towards the poor souls is our encouragement
to approach Thy Divine Bounty.
In Thy compassion and mercy for those whom Thou hast redeemed, deign,
once again, through the intercession of Saint Nicholas, to open the gates of purgatory that the heavens may see the passing
of multitudes to eternal happiness.
Glory Be…
Eternal Rest…
Let us pray:
Grant, we beseech Thee, O Almighty God, that Thy Church, which is made
illustrious with the glory of the prodigies and miracles of Saint Nicholas, Thy Blessed confessor, may, by his merits and
intercession enjoy perpetual unity and peace.
SECOND DAY
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.
St. Nicholas, Patron of the Holy Souls,
Pray for us
Remember, O gentle and compassionate Lord, the mercy that stirred Thy
heart when the cry of misery and sorrow came to Thine ears in Israel, how Thine eyes searched the rocks for the poor lepers
who called out to Thee, how Thou didst reach out Thy hand to the daughter of Jairus, and the widow’s son of Naim, how
tears came to Thine eyes at the tomb of Lazarus. Look down upon the land of sufferings, where souls that love Thee await
for the touch of Thy healing mercy. Through the merits of Thine own great sufferings which appeased the Eternal Justice,
reach out Thy Hand once more in its infinite power to save and relieve the Holy Souls in their sufferings. O Lord, hear
our prayers, unworthy though they be. We unite with the prayers of Thy holy servant, St. Nicholas of Tolentine, in the
grotto of San Angelo, with the prayers which he offered to Thee though the silent hours of the night, with the prayer with
which he bless Thine infinite goodness and mercy for Thy miraculous aid in his ministry. Hear our prayers for those
who cannot plead for themselves, and grant to the poor souls in purgatory happiness and rest. .
Glory Be…
Eternal Rest…
Let us pray:
Grant, we beseech Thee, O Almighty God, that Thy Church, which is made
illustrious with the glory of the prodigies and miracles of Saint Nicholas, Thy Blessed confessor, may, by his merits and
intercession enjoy perpetual unity and peace.
THIRD DAY
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.
St. Nicholas, Patron of the Holy Souls,
Pray for us
Remember, O Divine and merciful Lord, Thy compassion to the soul of the
Gentile Jodiani, for whom Saint Nicholas besought Thy mercy. Thou didst give the dying sinner the grace of repentance.
Though didst suspend the rigour of Thy justice, and, accepting the merits and suffrages of the Saint, Thou didst remit the
punishment deserved by his sins. Vouchsafe, O Lord, the same gentle pity to the poor penitent souls in purgatory, who,
in human frailty, offended Thy majesty and holiness. List once more to the prayer of Thy Saint, to which we, in our
lowliness, unite our supplications, and grant the poor souls relief from their sufferings, so that, with the Blessed in Heaven,
they may join their voices in exultant praise of Thy mercy.
Glory Be…
Eternal Rest…
Let us pray:
Grant, we beseech Thee, O Almighty God, that Thy Church, which is made
illustrious with the glory of the prodigies and miracles of Saint Nicholas, Thy Blessed confessor, may, by his merits and
intercession enjoy perpetual unity and peace.
FOURTH DAY
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.
St. Nicholas, Patron of the Holy Souls,
Pray for us
O ever blessed and adorable God, we remember how Thou didst permit Thy
servant Saint Nicholas of Tolentine, to see a multitude of the poor sufferers expiating their sins in purgatory, how the vision
overwhelmed him with grief, and how his heart pour out its gratitude to Thee, when Thou didst accept the penances and prayers
which He offered Thee in union with the infinite merits of the Holy Sacrifice. On the seventh day of his continual
appeal to Thy mercy, Thou didst open wide the gates of purgatory and paradise, permitting his eyes to behold the great multitudes
that were passing to their eternal rest with Thee. Vouchsafe now, O Lord, to show forth the wonders of Thy mercy.
Grant, through the devotion of the Septenarium of the Saint, that the faithful departed may pass, this day, from the
plains of darkness and suffering to the light of the Beatific Vision of heaven.
Glory Be…
Eternal Rest…
Let us pray:
Grant, we beseech Thee, O Almighty God, that Thy Church, which is made
illustrious with the glory of the prodigies and miracles of Saint Nicholas, Thy Blessed confessor, may, by his merits and
intercession enjoy perpetual unity and peace.
FIFTH DAY
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.
St. Nicholas, Patron of the Holy Souls,
Pray for us
O ever bountiful and merciful Lord, Thou hast glorified the memory of
Saint Nicholas of Tolentine by countless and extraordinary miracles, giving to his prayers a wondrous efficacy, and to his
hand an astonishing healing power. Though Thee he solaced and healed the afflicted, through Thee, he restored the dead
to a disconsolate mother’s embrace. To Thy pitying mercy he led the despairing and the penitent. Though
the holiness, the virtues, and the miracles of Thy saints, may the poor souls be admitted to Thy mercies, and to the embrace
of Thy compassionate love. Grant them the solace of Thy clemency, and eternal happiness and rest, with Thy glorious
saints in paradise.
Glory Be…
Eternal Rest…
Let us pray:
Grant, we beseech Thee, O Almighty God, that Thy Church, which is made
illustrious with the glory of the prodigies and miracles of Saint Nicholas, Thy Blessed confessor, may, by his merits and
intercession enjoy perpetual unity and peace.
SIXTH DAY
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.
St. Nicholas, Patron of the Holy Souls,
Pray for us
Remember, O Lord, the cry of the poor victim who found no pity in the
cruel human hearts but found pity in heaven, because he invoked Thy All-Holy Name, and venerated the name of the Saint of
Tolentine. Death or sin on the unshriven soul became no obstacle to Thy pitying mercy. O Good Jesus, how wonderful
are Thy ways in dealing with human souls. A boundless ocean of merit and mercy surrounds Thy Calvary and Thy Cross,
upon which Thou wert immolated by cruel hands. Behold, we turn our eyes to Thee upon the Cross, and upon the altar,
and our hearts overflow with a happy confidence. In that confidence we appeal to Thee for mercy upon our own unworthy
souls, and for the souls of all the faithful departed. Hear our cry in the moment of death, hear our prayers for the
souls in purgatory. Let neither death nor sin, O good Jesus, be an obstacle to their enjoyment of the full blessings
of Thy Redemption. Let Thine own merits make amends for the their failings, and now, in death take them to Thy Heart
in the land of eternal happiness.
Glory Be…
Eternal Rest…
Let us pray:
Grant, we beseech Thee, O Almighty God, that Thy Church, which is made
illustrious with the glory of the prodigies and miracles of Saint Nicholas, Thy Blessed confessor, may, by his merits and
intercession enjoy perpetual unity and peace.
SEVENTH DAY
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.
St. Nicholas, Patron of the Holy Souls,
Pray for us
O blessed Mother of our Redeemer, remember that dark hour beneath the
Cross when the dying lips of Jesus consecrated human souls to thy motherly love, and through the tender commiseration enkindled
within thy heart at that moment, bear to the Eternal Throne the supplications which we offer for thy suffering children
in purgatory. In humility we lift our mind to thy Divine Son. We see Him through the eyes of faith in the Holy
Sacrifice of the Mass, or abiding in the hallowed shelter of the tabernacle, and we remember, dear Mother, that thine own
pure heart was the first altar upon which he reposed here on earth.
O, that we could bring into His presence, a faith and love like thine.
Help us, dear Mother, supplement our weak efforts, give thy powerful aid to our supplications for the release of the suffering
souls in purgatory. Though the merits of the Cross and the Blessed Sacrament, though thin own great pity for the souls
of all thy children, through thine own love, and the love of Saint Nicholas of Tolentine for Jesus abiding in the adorable
Sacrament of the Latar, we pray for the release of the souls in purgatory this day.
Glory Be…
Eternal Rest…
Let us pray:
Grant, we beseech Thee, O Almighty God, that Thy Church, which is made
illustrious with the glory of the prodigies and miracles of Saint Nicholas, Thy Blessed confessor, may, by his merits and
intercession enjoy perpetual unity and peace
