October 24 is the feast day of St. Anthony Mary Claret, a devout and zealous 19th-century bishop. Through his apostolic works, including the founding of the Congregation of the Missionary Sons of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (the Claretians), St. Anthony Mary Claret brought about many conversions in a time of increasing irreligion. Since the saint himself received many miraculous cures during his lifetime (including the immediate healing of a gaping wound in his side after he prayed to the Blessed Virgin), it is not surprising that, after his death, novenas directed to St. Anthony Mary Claret have been associated with physical healing.
And so, as we prepare for the celebration of his feast, I have chosen a Novena to St. Anthony Mary Claret as our novena of the week. You can pray it for yourself or for another, and for the healing of soul or body (or both). If you would like to complete it on the vigil of the saint's feast day, you should begin to pray it on October 15.