Christ Bearing the Cross, Niccolo Frangipane, 1574

May God have mercy on us, and bless us: may he cause the light of his countenance to shine upon us, and may he have mercy on us.

Deus misereatur nostri, et benedicat nobis; illuminet vultum suum super nos, et misereatur nostri.

- Psalm 66.2 

My heart hath said to thee: My face hath sought thee: thy face, O Lord, will I still seek. Turn not away thy face from me; decline not in thy wrath from thy servant. Be thou my helper, forsake me not; do not thou despise me, O God my Saviour.

Tibi dixit cor meum, exquisivit te facies mea; faciem tuam, Domine, requiram. Ne avertas faciem tuam a me; ne declines in ira a servo tuo. Adjutor meus esto; ne derelinquas me, neque despicias me, Deus salutaris meus.

- Psalm 26.8-9

And he was transfigured before them. And his face did shine as the sun: and his garments became white as snow.

et transfiguratus est ante eos. Et resplenduit facies ejus sicut sol : vestimenta autem ejus facta sunt alba sicut nix.

- Matthew 17.2

And there shall be no curse any more; but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and his servants shall serve him. And they shall see his face: and his name shall be on their foreheads.

Et omne maledictum non erit amplius : sed sedes Dei et Agni in illa erunt, et servi ejus servient illi. Et videbunt faciem ejus : et nomen ejus in frontibus eorum.

- Revelation 22.3-4

The Holy Face of Manoppello

Prayer to the Holy Face

Jesus, Who in Thy bitter Passion didst become ‘the reproach of men and the Man of Sorrows’, I venerate Thy Holy Face on which shone the beauty and gentleness of the Divinity. In those disfigured features I recognise Thine infinite love, and I long to love Thee and to make Thee loved. May I behold Thy glorious Face in heaven. Amen.

Offering of the Holy Face by Saint John Vianney (1786-1859)

Oh, my beautiful Immaculate Mother Mary, Queen of Sorrows, I beg of you, by the inexpressible agony you did endure at the foot of the Cross, to offer to the Eternal Father, in my stead, the Holy Face of your Divine Son, my Jesus, covered with Blood, wounds, and other indignities heaped upon Him during His Sacred Passion, and beg of Him to grant … [Here mention the grace or favour you desire]. Amen.

Prayer for Sinners by Saint Therese of Lisieux (1873-1897)

Eternal Father, since You have given me for my inheritance the adorable Face of Your Divine Son, I offer that Face to You, and I beg You, in exchange for this coin of infinite value, to forget the ingratitude of souls dedicated to You, and to pardon all poor sinners.

Longer Version of Prayer to the Holy Face

O Jesus, Who in Thy cruel Passion didst become the “Reproach of men and the Man of Sorrows,” I worship Thy Divine Face. Once it shone with the beauty and sweetness of the Divinity: now for my sake it is become as the face of a leper. Yet in that disfigured Countenance I recognise Thy infinite Love, and I am consumed with the desire of loving Thee and of making Thee loved by all mankind. The tears that streamed in such abundance from Thine Eyes are to me as precious pearls which I delight to gather, that with their infinite worth I may ransom the souls of poor sinners.

O Jesus, Whose Face is the sole beauty that ravishes my heart, I may not behold here upon earth the sweetness of Thy Glance, nor feel the ineffable tenderness of Thy Kiss. I bow to Thy will - but I pray Thee to imprint in me Thy Divine likeness, and I implore Thee so to inflame me with Thy love, that it may quickly consume me and I may soon reach the vision of Thy glorious Face in heaven. Amen.

Prayer of Venerable Leo Dupont (1797-1876)

O adorable Face of my Jesus, so mercifully bowed upon the tree of the Cross on the day of Thy Passion, for the salvation of men, now again, incline in Thy pity toward us poor sinners; cast upon us a look of compassion, and receive us to the kiss of peace. Amen.

Offering of the Holy Face of our Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father in order to appease His justice and draw down mercy upon us

Eternal Father, turn away Thine angry gaze from our guilty people, whose face has become unsightly in Thine eyes. Look instead upon the Face of Thy beloved Son, for this is the Face of Him in Whom Thou art well pleased. We now offer Thee this Holy Face, covered with shame and disfigured by bloody bruises in reparation for the crimes of our age in order to appease Thine anger, justly provoked against us. Because Thy divine Son, our Redeemer, hath taken upon His Head all the sins of His members, that they might be spared, we now beg of Thee, Eternal Father, to grant us mercy. Amen. 

Prayer of Blessed Pius IX (1792-1878)

O my Jesus, cast upon us a look of mercy; turn Thy Face towards each of us, as Thou didst to Veronica; not that we may see It with our bodily eyes, for this we do not deserve, but turn It towards our hearts, so that, remembering Thee, we may ever draw from this fountain of strength the vigour necessary to sustain the combats of life. Amen.

Saint Veronica Holding the Veil, El Greco, c. 1580

Prayers of Saint Augustine (354-430) to the Holy Face

1.

I have sought Thy face. I have sought for Thee and none other beside Thee. Thy face is my only reward. I will seek Thy face, O Lord: in this demand will I persevere. Indeed I will not look for any unworthy object, but only Thy face that I may love Thee more generously, because I find none other more precious.

2.

Hide not Thy Face from me. Let me die, lest I die, if only I may see Thy Face.  (Confessions 1.5.5)

3.

I appear before Thy Holy Face, O my Saviour, laden with my sins and the penalties they have brought upon me. What I suffer is far less that I deserve, for although conscious of the justice of my punishment, I cease not to commit fresh sins every day. I sink beneath Thy scourges, yet I do not amend my ways; my heart is full of bitterness, still my obstinacy in evil remains ever the same. My life is spent in misery, and I do not correct myself. When Thou chastisest me, I make Thee great promises, which, as soon as Thou liftest up Thy hand, I forget.

I come now to make to Thee, O God, a sincere confession of my sins. I declare in Thy presence that if Thou show not Thy mercy to me, I shall surely perish. Grant me, my Saviour, what I beg of Thee, since of Thy pure goodness Thou hast drawn me out of nothingness to put me into a state wherein I can pray to Thee. Amen.

4.

Let us return, wiping away the sweat, let us end the weariness and the weeping that we may shine in Thy all satisfying Face. Neither let us search anymore, because there is nothing better. Let us not abandon Thee, and we shall not be abandoned by Thee. Because what was said about the Lord, after the Resurrection? I will be filled with overflowing joy with Thy Face, because without Thy Face there would not be joy for us.

The Litany of the Most Holy Face of Jesus

The Litany of the Most Holy Face of Jesus (both a complete version and an abbreviated version) is at traditionalcatholicprayers.com. A pdf version of the Litany of the Holy Face of Jesus is at Latin Mass Victoria.

Prayers to the Holy Face of Jesus and information about Sister Mary of St. Peter (1816-1848), who Our Lord asked to spread devotion to His Most Holy Face throughout the world,  is at The Teresian Way on the website of the Discalced Carmelite Nuns of Sacramento.  The Teresan Way also includes a history of Devotion to the Holy Face. Our Lord dictated The Golden Arrow Prayer to Sister Mary of St. Peter on 26 August 1843.

The Golden Arrow Prayer

May the most holy, most sacred, most adorable, most incomprehensible, and ineffable Name of God be forever praised, blessed, adored, loved, and glorified, in heaven, on earth, and under the earth,* by all the creatures of God, and by the Sacred Heart of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the most Holy Sacrament of the Altar. Amen.

Sanctissimum, sacratissimum, adorabile, incomprehensibile et ineffabile Nomen Dei semper laudetur, benedicatur, ametur, adoretur et glorificetur in caelo, in terra et sub terra, ab omnibus creaturis Dei, et a Sacro Corde Domini nostri Jesu Christi in Sanctissimo Sacramento Altaris. Amen.

(* The original text read: “…in the hells.” Sr. Mary of St. Peter was somewhat astonished at the words “in the hells,” but our Lord gave her to understand that His Justice was also glorified there, and that “in the hells” included Purgatory, where He is loved and glorified by the suffering souls. She saw torrents of graces streaming from the Sacred Heart of Jesus, delightfully wounded by this Golden Arrow).

Holy Face Relic, in reproduction of and touched to the Veil of Veronica in St Peter's Basilica at the Vatican

Prayer to God the Father

Almighty and Eternal Father, since it has pleased Our Divine Saviour to reveal to mankind in modern times the power residing in His Holy Face, we now avail ourselves of this Treasure in our great need. Since our Saviour Himself promised that by offering to You His Holy Face disfigured in the Passion we can procure the settlement of all the affairs of our household, and that nothing whatsoever will be refused to us, we now come before Your throne.

Eternal Father, turn away Your angry gaze from our guilty people whose face has become unsightly in Your eyes. Look instead upon the Face of Your Beloved Son; for this is the Face of Him in whom You are well pleased. We now offer You His Holy Face covered with blood, sweat, dust, spittle and shame, in reparation for the worst crimes of our age, which are atheism, blasphemy, and the desecration of Your holy days. We thus hope to appease Your anger justly provoked against us. The All-Merciful Advocate opens His mouth to plead our cause; listen to His cries, behold His tears, O God, and through the merits of His Holy Face hearken to Him when He intercedes for us poor miserable sinners.

A number of images of engravings of the Holy Face that are in reproduction of and touched to the veil of Veronica at the Vatican are at the Holy Face Miracle website, including a history of these relics. This website also includes images from the Shrine of The Holy Face at Manoppello, Italy.

A free PDF booklet 'The Holy Face of Jesus, Work of Reparation' may be downloaded from The Holy Face Devotion website. This booklet includes the Sorrow Mysteries of the Rosary meditations on the Holy Face.

The Holy Face Chaplet

The Chaplet of the Holy Face is a chaplet of reparation for sins and is composed of a cross, 39 beads (6 large and 33 small), and a medal of the Holy Face.

The Cross calls to mind the mystery of our Redemption. The 33 small beads represent the 33 years of the mortal life of our Lord. The first 30 recall the 30 years of his private life, and are divided into 5 sets of 6 beads with the intention of honouring the 5 senses of touch, hearing, sight, smell and taste of Jesus, which have their seat principally in His Holy Face, and of rendering homage to all the sufferings which our Lord endured in His Face through each one of these senses. The last 3 small beads recall the 3 years of public life of our Saviour and have for their object the honouring of all the wounds of His adorable Face. The Gloria is repeated 7 times in honour of the 7 last words of Jesus upon the Cross, and the 7 sorrows of the Immaculate Virgin Mary.

The seven sorrows of the Immaculate Virgin Mary are (1) Simeon announces the suffering destiny of Jesus (Luke 2:34-35), (2) Mary escapes into Egypt with Jesus and Joseph (Matt 2:13-15), (3) Mary seeks Jesus lost in Jerusalem (Luke 2:41-51), (4) Mary meets Jesus as He carries His Cross to Calvary (cf. Luke 23:26-31), (5) Mary stands near the Cross of her Son Jesus (John 19:25-27), (6) Mary receives into her arms the body of Jesus taken down from the Cross (cf. John 19:38), and (7) Mary helps place the body of Jesus in the tomb (cf. John 19:39-42).

How to Pray the Holy Face Chaplet 

Holy Face of Jesus from Shroud of Turin, photograph 1909

This Webpage first posted on

The Feast Day of the Holy Face of Jesus, Shrove Tuesday, 4 March 2025.

Immaculate Queen of Peace, pray for us.