English 
Chinese 
Dutch 
Arabic 
Spanish 
Portuguese 
Russian 
French 
Italian 
German 
Japanese For someone going into surgery, Catholics can pray: “Lord Jesus, [name] is in the surgeons’ hands today. Guide their skill, keep [him or her] safe, and bring [him or her] to a good recovery. Amen.” The Memorare, a prayer to Saint Raphael and the Anointing of the Sick also belong to the hours before an operation.
Prayer goes alongside the care of the surgeon and the hospital team and never replaces it. Follow their instructions before and after the operation, and call the hospital or the emergency services if something seems wrong during recovery.
Short prayers for someone having surgery
Put the person’s name where [name] appears. Each prayer can be said at home, in a hospital waiting room or in church.
The night before the operation
Father, tomorrow [name] goes into surgery. Quiet [his or her] fears tonight and give [him or her] sleep. You have said, “I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety” (Psalm 4:8). Let [name] rest in that promise. Amen.
As they go into the operating room
Lord Jesus, [name] is being taken in now, and I cannot go with [him or her]. Go where I cannot. Keep [his or her] heart and breathing steady, guard [him or her] through every minute of the operation, and let [him or her] wake to your peace. Amen.
For the surgeons, anesthetists and nurses
Lord, you give doctors their knowledge and their skill. Give the surgeon a clear mind and steady hands today, give the anesthetist watchful care, and give the nurses patience and attention. Prosper the work they do for [name], as your word says of physicians, that they “shall beseech the Lord, that he would prosper what they give for ease and remedy” (Ecclesiasticus 38:14). Amen.
For a child having surgery
Jesus, you welcomed the little children and said, “Suffer the little children to come unto me” (Mark 10:14). Hold [name] close today. Take away [his or her] fear of the hospital, keep [him or her] safe on the operating table, and give us, [his or her] parents, the calm our child needs to see in us. Amen.
For a long or serious operation, such as heart surgery
Father, this operation will take many hours, and the risks are real. [Name]’s times are in your hand (Psalm 31:15). Keep every stitch and every machine working as it should, give the whole team strength to the last minute, and bring [name] safely out of the operating room. Amen.
While the family waits
Lord, the hours in this waiting room are long. Every time the door opens we look up. Give us patience with each other and with the news that has not come yet. We cast this burden on you, as you told us to: “Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee” (Psalm 55:22). Amen.
If there are complications
Lord, the surgery has not gone as planned, and we are frightened. Give the doctors wisdom for what comes next and give [name] the strength to hold on. In the garden Jesus prayed, “nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt” (Matthew 26:39). Give us the grace to pray it with him, and heal [name] if it is your will. Amen.
For recovery after surgery
Lord, the operation is over. Now heal what the surgeon has done: close the wound cleanly, keep infection away and bring back [name]’s strength a little each day. Give [him or her] patience with the pain, the stiffness and the slow first steps. “Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed” (Jeremiah 17:14). Amen.
Offering up the pain
Catholics speak of “offering up” suffering, joining it to Christ’s. The idea draws on Saint Paul, who wrote that he rejoiced in his sufferings and filled up “that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church” (Colossians 1:24).
Lord Jesus, I offer you the pain of this operation and the weeks of getting better. Unite it with your own suffering on the cross, and use it for the good of the people I love and of your Church. Amen.
A thanksgiving after a successful operation
Thank you, Lord, for bringing [name] safely through surgery, for the surgeon’s skill, and for every nurse who kept watch. “O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever” (Psalm 107:1). Finish the healing you have begun. Amen.
Before your own surgery
Lord, I am the one on the list today, and I am afraid of going under and of what the surgeon will find. I put my body and my life in your hands. Guide the people who will care for me, and let me wake with you still beside me. “Fear thou not; for I am with thee” (Isaiah 41:10). Amen.
Traditional Catholic prayers before surgery
The Memorare
The Memorare asks the Virgin Mary to pray for the person who turns to her. The Litany of Loreto gives Mary the title “Health of the sick.” The Memorare can be said by the patient or by anyone praying for the patient. This is the English text printed in Lasance’s Catholic Girl’s Guide.
Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary! that never was it known that any one who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, and sought thy intercession, was left unaided. Inspired with this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins, my Mother! To thee I come; before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate! despise not my petitions, but, in thy mercy, hear and answer me. Amen.
F. X. Lasance, The Catholic Girl’s Guide (1906), “Memorare,” p. 588
A prayer to Saint Raphael
Raphael is the angel of the Book of Tobit (Tobias), who tells the family, “I am the angel Raphael, one of the seven, who stand before the Lord” (Tobias 12:15, Douay-Rheims). The Catholic Encyclopedia explains that his name means “God has healed” and that he was sent to heal the elder Tobias of his blindness. Catholics ask his prayers before surgery for that reason.
Glorious archangel St. Raphael, great prince of the heavenly court, illustrious by thy gifts of wisdom and grace, guide of travelers by land and sea, consoler of the unfortunate, and refuge of sinners, I entreat thee to help me in all my needs and in all the trials of this life, as thou didst once assist the young Tobias in his journeying. And since thou art the “physician of God,” I humbly pray thee to heal my soul of its many infirmities and my body of the ills that afflict it, if this favor is for my greater good. I ask, especially, for angelic purity, that I may be made fit to be the living temple of the Holy Ghost. Amen.
F. X. Lasance, The Catholic Girl’s Guide (1906), “Prayer to St. Raphael, Archangel,” p. 601
To your guardian angel
This four-line prayer is short enough to say on the gurney on the way to the operating room.
Angel of God, my Guardian dear,
To whom His love commits me here,
Ever this day be at my side,
To light and guard, to rule and guide. Amen.A Manual of Prayers for the Use of the Catholic Laity (1888), Morning Prayers, p. 54
For the means of recovery
The 1888 Manual of Prayers, prepared by order of the Third Plenary Council of Baltimore, gives a “Prayer in the Beginning of Sickness.” One sentence from it fits any operation, because surgery is one of the “means” it names:
Lord, bless all the means that are used for my recovery, and restore me to my health, if it be Thy will, in Thy good time; but if Thou hast appointed otherwise for me, Thy blessed will be done.
A Manual of Prayers for the Use of the Catholic Laity (1888), “Prayer in the Beginning of Sickness,” p. 460
Anointing of the Sick before an operation
The Catholic Church encourages the Anointing of the Sick before a serious operation. The Catechism of the Catholic Church says that “It is fitting to receive the Anointing of the Sick just prior to a serious operation” (paragraph 1515), and that the sacrament “is not a sacrament for those only who are at the point of death” (paragraph 1514). Only a priest can give it (paragraph 1516). The practice rests on James 5:14–15: “Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.”
To arrange it, call the parish office a few days ahead, or ask the hospital chaplaincy on the day of admission. The priest can hear confession and bring Communion at the same visit.
Saints Catholics ask to pray for surgery
Catholics and Orthodox Christians ask saints to pray for them; most Protestants pray to God alone. These saints are linked with medicine by Scripture or by long custom.
- Saint Luke, traditionally held to be the author of the third Gospel and Acts, was a doctor. Paul calls him “Luke, the beloved physician” (Colossians 4:14), and by tradition he is a patron of physicians.
- Saints Cosmas and Damian were twin brothers who practiced medicine without payment and were martyred, probably in 287. The Catholic Encyclopedia says they “are regarded as the patrons of physicians and surgeons,” and they are named in the Canon of the Mass. Because they took no fee, they were called anargyroi, “the silverless.”
- Saint Raphael, whose name means “God has healed,” healed Tobit’s blindness in the Book of Tobit. His feast was kept on 24 October until the 1969 revision of the Roman calendar, which joined it to the feast of Michael and Gabriel on 29 September.
- The Virgin Mary is called “Health of the sick” in the Litany of Loreto.
What Scripture says about doctors and prayer
The Book of Ecclesiasticus (Sirach), which Catholic and Orthodox Bibles include and most Protestant Bibles do not, speaks directly about prayer and medicine together. It tells the sick to pray and also to see the doctor:
Honour the physician for the need thou hast of him: for the most High hath created him. For all healing is from God, and he shall receive gifts of the king. … My son, in thy sickness neglect not thyself, but pray to the Lord, and he shall heal thee. … For the Lord created him: and let him not depart from thee, for his works are necessary.
Ecclesiasticus 38:1–2, 9, 12 (Douay-Rheims)
The same chapter says that doctors “shall beseech the Lord, that he would prosper what they give for ease and remedy” (Ecclesiasticus 38:14). In the Catholic reading, the surgeon’s skill and the family’s prayer both serve the same healing. For more prayers in illness, see the Catholic prayers for the sick, and for a young patient, Catholic prayers for a sick child.
Prayer for Calm and Peace Before Surgery
Facing surgery can bring a storm of anxiety and fear into our hearts. This prayer is a plea for God’s supernatural peace to settle our minds and spirits, replacing worry with a profound sense of calm and trust in His loving care.
Heavenly Father, my heart is heavy and my mind is racing with worry as my surgery approaches. I feel a knot of fear inside me, and I desperately need Your presence. Please, Lord, come and fill this room and my whole being with Your perfect peace, the peace that the world cannot give and that surpasses all understanding. Guard my heart and my mind in Christ Jesus.
Still my anxious thoughts and quiet my restless spirit. Help me to breathe in Your calm and breathe out my fears. Remind me that You are with me, that You are my refuge and my strength, a very present help in trouble. I choose to focus on Your power and Your love for me, not on the ‘what ifs’ that try to steal my joy and my trust.
Let me feel Your comforting arms around me, holding me securely. I give You every fear, every concern, and every unknown. I choose to rest in the certainty of Your goodness. Help me to enter this surgery not with a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind, knowing You are in control. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
This prayer is an active choice to invite God’s tranquility into our turmoil. As it says in Philippians 4:7, “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Prayer to Surrender to God’s Will
Letting go of control is one of the hardest things for us to do, especially with our health. This prayer is an act of surrender, humbly placing the entire situation—and its outcome—into God’s loving and sovereign hands.
Almighty God, I come before You now in an act of surrender. It is my human nature to want to control every detail of my life, but I know that Your ways are higher than my ways. I release my grip on this situation. I surrender my will, my expectations, and my desires to You.
Father, I trust Your plan for my life, a plan for my welfare and not for my harm. Whether in healing on this earth or in Your eternal glory, Your will is perfect. Give me the grace to accept the outcome of this surgery, whatever it may be, as a part of Your divine story for me. Help me to say with my whole heart, “Your will be done.”
Remove from me any resistance or rebellion. Instead, fill me with a deep and abiding trust that You are working all things together for my good. I am Your child, and I place myself completely in Your care, now and for always. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
True peace is not found in having our plans succeed, but in trusting the One whose plan is perfect. Surrendering is a profound act of faith that acknowledges God’s ultimate wisdom and love for us.
Prayer for the Hands of the Surgeons and Nurses
The medical team is the human instrument through which God’s healing can flow. This prayer asks for divine guidance upon the surgeons, doctors, and nurses, blessing their minds, hands, and hearts as they perform their duties.
Lord of all wisdom, I lift up the entire medical team to You. I ask You to bless the surgeons, anesthesiologists, and nurses who will be caring for me. Be present with them in the operating room, guiding their thoughts and actions.
Grant the surgeons steady hands, sharp minds, and focused eyes. Give them the wisdom to make the right decisions and the skill to perform their work with excellence and precision. Let them be extensions of Your own healing hands. May they feel Your guidance in every movement and every choice they make.
Bless the nurses with strength, patience, and deep compassion. Help them to minister to me with tenderness and understanding. May they see not just a patient, but a person created in Your image who is in need of their gentle care. Let Your peace flow through them to all they serve. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
We entrust our well-being to these skilled professionals, and it is right to pray for them. “For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding” (Proverbs 2:6). May God grant them all they need.
Prayer to Jesus, the Divine Physician
Jesus spent much of His earthly ministry healing the sick and comforting the broken. This prayer calls upon Him by His powerful title, the Divine Physician, asking for His direct healing touch upon body, mind, and soul.
O Lord Jesus, you are the Divine Physician. You walked the earth healing every kind of illness and infirmity. You made the blind see, the lame walk, and the brokenhearted whole. I come to You now in my weakness and ask for Your healing touch.
Please be with me during this surgery. Guide the hands of the medical staff, but I know that You are the ultimate source of all healing. I ask that You would mend what is broken in my body, remove what is causing harm, and restore me to health and strength according to Your will. Heal me completely, Lord.
Beyond my physical healing, I also ask You to touch my soul. Calm my fears, strengthen my faith, and fill me with the hope that is found only in You. Let me feel Your compassionate presence beside me, assuring me that I am never alone in this trial. I place my full trust in Your power and Your love. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Calling on Jesus as the Divine Physician reminds us that He is personally invested in our suffering and has the power over it. As the prophet Jeremiah prayed, “Heal me, Lord, and I will be healed; save me and I will be saved, for you are the one I praise” (Jeremiah 17:14).
Prayer to Our Lady of Health for Comfort
Mary, the Mother of Jesus, knows the pain of watching a loved one suffer. As a loving mother, she offers comfort and intercession for her children. This prayer asks for her maternal care and prayers during this time of need.
O Mary, you are our loving Mother and our Lady of Health. You stood faithfully at the foot of the cross, sharing in your Son’s suffering. You understand a heart filled with pain and worry. I turn to you now and ask for your motherly comfort.
Please wrap your mantle of love around me as I prepare for this surgery. Intercede for me before your Son, Jesus, the Divine Physician. Ask Him to grant skill and wisdom to the medical team, to protect my body during the procedure, and to grant me a peaceful and swift recovery. Help me to feel your gentle presence with me.
O Blessed Mother, be a source of strength for my family as they wait and worry. Calm their fears and fill them with hope. Teach me to unite my own suffering with your Son’s, trusting that it has a purpose in God’s plan. I place myself and this surgery into your caring hands. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Mary’s “yes” to God brought the ultimate Healer into the world. Her maternal intercession is a powerful source of comfort and grace, guiding us closer to the loving heart of her Son, Jesus.
Prayer to St. Luke, Patron Saint of Physicians
St. Luke was not only an evangelist who wrote one of the Gospels but also a physician. The Church honors him as the patron saint of doctors and surgeons, making him a perfect intercessor for those undergoing a medical procedure.
O glorious St. Luke, beloved of God, you were a physician of the body and the soul. You used your God-given talents to bring healing and comfort to many, and you faithfully proclaimed the good news of Jesus, the Divine Healer. I ask for your powerful intercession today.
Please pray for the surgeons and doctors who are using their skills for my benefit. Ask the Holy Spirit to grant them profound insight, steady hands, and unwavering focus, that they may be perfect instruments of God’s healing grace. Pray that God’s life-saving power will work through them for my good.
Please also pray for me, that I may have the courage and faith to endure this trial. Help me to trust completely in God’s plan and to feel the peace of Christ in my heart. Through your intercession, may this surgery be successful and may I be restored to health to give glory to God. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Praying through St. Luke connects our modern medical needs with the ancient faith of the Church. He reminds us that medicine is a noble calling, a way in which human beings participate in God’s work of healing.
Prayer for Protection During the Operation
The time during the surgery itself is when we are most vulnerable and helpless. This prayer is a powerful plea for God’s shield of protection to surround the patient, guarding them against all harm while they are unconscious.
Lord God, my loving Protector and Mighty Fortress, I am about to enter a time of total vulnerability. As I am put to sleep for this operation, I ask for Your divine protection to be a shield around me. Watch over me when I cannot watch over myself.
I ask that You would place Your guardian angels in the operating room to stand guard. Protect me from any infection, complication, or unforeseen error. Guide every aspect of this procedure, from the first incision to the last stitch. Let Your presence be so powerful that it pushes back any form of harm.
I place my life and my body in Your hands, the safest place I could ever be. You are my rock and my salvation. Let me rest safely under the shadow of Your wings until I wake again. I trust in Your promise from Isaiah 41:10, “So do not fear, for I am with you.” In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
This prayer is an act of faith, entrusting our physical body to God’s care. It acknowledges His sovereignty over every moment and asks for His supernatural protection when we are at our most helpless.
Prayer for a Successful Recovery and Healing
After a successful surgery, the journey of healing begins. This next phase requires strength, patience, and God’s continued grace. This prayer asks for a smooth, swift, and complete recovery, restoring the body to wholeness.
O Lord, my Healer, I thank you for bringing me safely through this surgery. Now I enter the journey of recovery, and I ask for your continued grace. I pray that you would bless my body’s natural ability to heal and accelerate my restoration to full health.
Please knit together what has been cut, soothe my pain, and protect me from any setbacks or infections. Grant me restful sleep that allows my body to repair itself. Give me the appetite and strength to take in the nourishment I need to grow strong again. Let every cell and fiber of my being respond to Your healing touch.
Replace my weakness with Your strength day by day. Fill me with an optimistic and hopeful spirit, even on difficult days. I trust that the good work You have begun in me, You will bring to completion. Thank you for being the God who restores. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
The process of recovery is as important as the surgery itself. As we read in the Psalms, “Lord my God, I called to you for help, and you healed me” (Psalm 30:2). This prayer continues that call for healing.
Prayer for Patience During the Healing Process
Recovery can be a long and frustrating road, testing our patience and resolve. This prayer is for the spiritual fruit of patience, asking God for the strength to endure the healing process with grace and a peaceful heart.
Gracious and patient God, you waited centuries for the world to be ready for Your Son. Teach me, Your impatient child, the virtue of patience during this time of healing. The journey to recovery feels so slow, and I am often frustrated by my weakness and limitations.
Please quiet my restless heart. Help me to accept that healing takes time and that this season of rest is also a part of your plan for me. When I feel discouraged, remind me of how far I have already come. Grant me the grace to be gentle with myself and to not push my body beyond what it is ready for.
Help me to find joy in small victories—a little less pain, a little more movement, a little more strength. Let this time of waiting draw me closer to you, teaching me to depend more fully on your strength and not my own. Help me to “rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer” (Romans 12:12). In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Patience is a gift from the Holy Spirit. This prayer invites that gift into the often-frustrating reality of a slow recovery, transforming waiting into a time of spiritual growth and deeper trust in God.
Prayer of Thanksgiving After a Successful Surgery
Once a surgery is successfully completed, our first response should be gratitude. This prayer is an offering of pure thanksgiving to God for His faithfulness, for the skill of the medical team, and for the gift of a new chance at health.
O God of mercy and love, my heart overflows with gratitude! You have brought me safely through this surgery, and I want to praise Your holy name. Thank you for your faithfulness, for hearing my prayers and the prayers of those who love me. Thank you for watching over me.
-
I am so grateful for the knowledge and skill You gave to my surgeons and nurses. Thank you for guiding their hands and their minds. I see Your goodness and grace in their dedicated care. Thank you for this new opportunity for healing and for life.
Lord, I offer my recovery and my restored health back to You as an act of worship. May I use this gift of more time and renewed strength to serve you and to love others more deeply. Let my life be a testament to your healing power and goodness. All glory and honor are Yours, now and forever. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
A heart full of gratitude is a healthy heart. As 1 Thessalonians 5:18 says, “give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” This prayer fulfills that command with joy.
Prayer to Unite Sufferings with Christ’s Passion
The Catholic faith teaches that our suffering can have redemptive value when we unite it with the suffering of Jesus on the Cross. This prayer offers up the pain and discomfort of surgery for the good of others and the world.
O Lord Jesus, you suffered immense pain on the cross out of love for me and for all of humanity. As I experience my own pain and discomfort from this surgery, I do not want to waste it. I offer it all to you.
I choose to unite my suffering with Your sacred Passion. May this pain in my body, my weakness, my fatigue, and my frustration be joined to Your sacrifice on Calvary. Please accept this offering for the conversion of sinners, for the souls in purgatory, for the strengthening of the Church, and for the intentions of my family and friends.
Help me to see this suffering not as a meaningless burden, but as a participation in Your redemptive work. As St. Paul wrote, “Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church” (Colossians 1:24). Transform my pain into grace. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
This is a profound spiritual practice that gives meaning to what can feel like pointless suffering. It turns a hospital bed into an altar, where our own trials can become a source of grace for the world.
Prayer for Strength for the Patient’s Family
Surgery is not just a trial for the patient; it is an intensely stressful and emotional time for their family and loved ones. This prayer asks God to grant peace, strength, and hope to those who are waiting and worrying.
Heavenly Father, I lift up the family and loved ones of the person undergoing surgery. Their hearts are filled with concern, and the weight of waiting is heavy upon them. Please pour out Your special grace upon them during this anxious time.
Grant them the strength they need to be a source of support and comfort. When they feel helpless, remind them of the power of their prayers. Replace their fear with a deep and abiding hope in Your goodness. Let Your peace, which surpasses all understanding, guard their hearts and minds.
Be their rock and their comfort. Give them the encouraging words to say and the patience to listen. Help them to trust You completely, knowing that their beloved is in Your loving hands. Remind them of Your promise in Joshua 1:9: “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Praying for the family acknowledges their own silent suffering. It asks God to sustain them so they can be the loving, stable presence their loved one needs during a difficult and frightening time.
Leave a Reply