Prayers to the saintly companion of the road

A note on these prayers

Spanish versions and English adaptations

The prayers that follow are the ones most widely used in the migrant devotion to Saint Toribio Romo. They circulate in Spanish, on holy cards distributed at the shrine and in Mexican parishes across the United States. For pilgrims and families who feel more comfortable praying in English, here we offer adapted English translations alongside notes about their traditional Spanish forms. These English renderings are meant for private devotion; for official liturgical use, the canonical Spanish or Latin forms should be preferred.

From the shrine

Prayer to the patron of migrants

The prayer most widely used by migrants who commend themselves to Saint Toribio Romo. It is prayed holding a holy card or a water bottle, at home before leaving or along the way. At many shrines in the United States — the parish of St. William in Phoenix, the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament in Sacramento, several parishes in the Diocese of Monterey, California — it is framed on the wall or printed on pamphlets.

Traditionally, whoever prays this prayer before departing keeps a holy card of the saint in the backpack, and another hidden in the sole of the shoe as a sign of constant company. If he crosses safely, he promises to send the card to the shrine of Santa Ana de Guadalupe along with a note of thanks. Hundreds of such cards and notes hang on the shrine's walls.

For those who remain at home

Prayer for a loved one on the road

Many families in Mexico pray every night for children, husbands, siblings, and parents who are on the other side of the border, or trying to cross it. The following prayer captures that practice. It is not of official authorship; it circulates on holy cards and pamphlets distributed by the shrine at Santa Ana.

Many families of Los Altos light yellow candles on Tuesdays — the day popular devotion especially associates with Saint Toribio — while praying this prayer. Others join it to the rosary, dedicating the mysteries to the intention of the traveler.

Nine days before the journey

Novena to Saint Toribio

The novena is a Catholic tradition of praying for nine consecutive days for an intention. In the case of Saint Toribio, popular practice has developed a specific novena for migrants, prayed in the nine days before setting out on the road — or, in the case of families who wait, in the nine days before a critical moment (a court hearing, an administrative decision, a family reunification).

The structure is simple. Each day, for nine consecutive days:

1. A blue candle is lit — the color of the open sky, of protection, and of the shirt the saint wore in the accounts of the apparitions.
2. A decade of the Rosary is prayed for the specific intention.
3. The Prayer to the migrant (above) is recited.
4. A specific grace is asked for that day.

On the fifth day, a cross is marked with water — remembering the miracle of water in the desert — on the forehead of the one preparing to travel, or on a holy card of the saint if praying at a distance. On the ninth day, the final intention of the journey is spoken aloud: to reunite with family, to find dignified work, to return safely. Many promise, when the grace is received, to make the pilgrimage to the shrine at Santa Ana de Guadalupe.

A published form of this novena, with meditations and a specific prayer for drivers, was written by Tomás Martínez Rayas and published by Ediciones Paulinas in 2010. The travel prayer:

Toribio's own prayer

The eucharistic prayer

Transmitted from the day of Father Toribio's priestly ordination, December 23, 1922. He prayed it himself every day during the six years and two months of his ministry. Many faithful recite it before receiving communion in memory of the saint:

May 21

Liturgical collect of the feast day

Official prayer of the Catholic Church for the memorial of Saint Cristóbal Magallanes, priest, and companions, martyrs — the group of 25 Mexican martyrs canonized in 2000, of which Saint Toribio Romo is part. It is prayed at every Mass celebrated on May 21 in Mexican dioceses and in many US dioceses with significant Mexican populations.

Coda

A brief prayer

If you don't have the time or heart to pray a long prayer — because the journey presses, because the waiting hurts too much, because words fall short — it is enough to say, as hundreds of pilgrims say every day at Santa Ana: