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faith · Tuesday 11 August 2026 · 8:00pm 
Novena to St Anthony at Multyfarnham Friary
At Franciscan Friary Multyfarnham · Multyfarnham, Co. Westmeath, N91 X279
At Franciscan Friary Multyfarnham · Multyfarnham, Co. Westmeath, N91 X279
Every Tuesday evening the Franciscan community at Multyfarnham celebrates a novena Mass in honour of St Anthony of Padua at 8pm. It is one of the longest standing weekly devotions in County Westmeath, drawing parishioners from Multyfarnham and the surrounding north Westmeath parishes along with visitors who travel specifically for the novena. The Mass closes with a blessing using a relic of St Anthony, a tradition the friars have kept up for generations at this small rural friary.
The novena follows the standard shape of a Mass with novena prayers to St Anthony woven through the liturgy, and it finishes with the blessing using the relic. The friary church, part of a Franciscan foundation dating back to 1268, is plain and well kept rather than grand, and the atmosphere is quiet and unhurried rather than a big production. Regulars come with intentions written down or simply held in mind, from lost property and lost opportunities to family worries, since St Anthony is traditionally invoked as the patron of lost things and lost causes. The friars welcome newcomers and there is no need to book or arrive early, though the church can fill for the 8pm slot in the darker months of the year. The Tuesday novena runs year round and sits apart from the friary’s biggest annual date, the Portiuncula feast on 1 and 2 August, when the community marks the founding of the Franciscan Order with an extended programme of Masses.
Multyfarnham is a small village in north Westmeath on the R394, a short drive from Mullingar. The friary sits at the centre of the village and is well signposted from the main road, with car parking available on site for evening Mass.
The friary has anchored this small village for more than 750 years, and the grounds around the church are worth a slow walk before or after Mass. There is more to see in Multyfarnham and across Co. Westmeath.
Heading to Franciscan Friary Multyfarnham in Multyfarnham? Westmeath has plenty more to see. Read the Multyfarnham area guide, find what else is on, and explore the towns and villages nearby.