Official Website of the
Catholic Diocese of Little Rock
Novena for Life, Mass for Life, Prayer for Legal Protection of Unborn
Sunday, Jan. 21, 2024
Location: Cathedral of St. Andrew - Little Rock
Contact: Catherine Phillips
Phone: (501) 664-0340, ext. 326
High school youth are invited to attend the annual Weekend for Life Jan. 20-21 at the DoubleTree Hotel in Little Rock. This overnight event focuses on right-to-life issues from a youth perspective. It is held the night before the annual Mass for Life in Little Rock.
Bishop Anthony B. Taylor will celebrate the annual Diocese of Little Rock Mass for Life at noon, Sunday, Jan. 21, at the Cathedral of St. Andrew in Little Rock. All are invited to come and pray especially for an end to abortion and for the legal protection of unborn children. For more information, contact Catherine Phillips, director of the Respect Life Office, at (501) 664-0340, ext. 326.
On behalf of Arkansas Right to Life, the diocesan Respect Life Office invites everyone also to participate in the 46th annual March for Life, at 2 p.m., after the Mass for Life. Join hundreds of Catholics and people of goodwill as we give public witness to our firm belief in the sacredness of life from the very first moment of conception. This year the march's route is along Capitol Avenue beginning at State Street. For more information, please visit Arkansas Right to Life, call (501) 663-4237 or email artl@artl.org.
In preparation for these events, the Knights of Columbus of Arkansas are leading a Novena for Life, Jan. 12-20, in nine days of prayer and action to end abortion. All are invited to join them in prayer on the diocese's YouTube, Facebook or Instagram. Beginning with day 1, a knight leads prayer, gives a short reflection and suggests actions to build a culture of life. Videos premiere each day at 6 a.m. Learn more from Dale Flamand in the video below. This novena is sponsored by the diocese's Respect Life Office as part of the national Nine Days for Life initiative.
Dioceses of the United States observe Jan. 22 as a day of prayer for the legal protection of unborn children and of penance for violations to the dignity of the human person committed through acts of abortion. Since January 1973, when abortion became legal in all 50 states as a result of the Roe v. Wade U.S. Supreme Court decision, more than 63 million children have died from abortion in the United States.
In June 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned that decision and returned the question of legal protection for unborn children to each state. Since that time, abortion has been illegal in Arkansas and 13 other states. Despite these abortion bans, it is estimated that more than 800,000 babies died from abortion in the U.S. in 2023. This tremendous and heart-breaking loss of life reminds us that great prayer and advocacy for preborn life are still urgently needed.
