March 13, 2021

Bishop Byrne leads rosary at the 40 Days for Life

REGIONAL
Story and photos by Carolee McGrath

SPRINGFIELD – Springfield Bishop William D. Byrne led close to 40 people in praying the rosary for the 40 Days for Life Campaign, Friday, March 12 at 3 p.m. on Wason Avenue in Springfield on the public right-of-way outside of Planned Parenthood. The 40 Days for Life campaign kicked off Ash Wednesday, Feb. 17, and runs through Sunday, March 28, which is Palm Sunday. Volunteers from parishes in the Diocese of Springfield are needed to cover hours praying in front of the clinic.

“When we pray for the end to abortion, we also pray for all of those in the act of discerning this, the doctors, the nurses. This sin not only affects ourselves, but families, so we really need to hold them close in prayer,” said Bishop Byrne, who added there is power in public witness.

The peaceful, pro-life vigil has three components: prayer and fasting, public witness, and community outreach. People from several parishes from across the Diocese of Springfield came to join the bishop.

“Any decade, any rosary, any prayer we do saves lives,” said Mabeline Burgos, of Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in Holyoke. She was joined by her husband, Tony, and several members of Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish. Burgos led the fourth decade of the Sorrowful Mysteries. Burgos went through Rachel’s Vineyard Retreats, a post-abortive ministry, to receive healing from an abortion she had when she was a young woman.

“It makes a difference, even if it’s just one life. And so it is important for me because of my own story of having an abortion at an early age. So you know, the more I can spread the word to prevent everything I went through, that’s what I’m going to do,” Burgos said.

The first nationally coordinated 40 Days for Life campaign took place at a now-closed Planned Parenthood in Bryan/College Station, Texas in 2007. That was the same clinic that pro-life advocate Abby Johnson worked as the clinic director. Johnson, who wrote the book Unplanned, has shared the pain of her two past abortions, and the trauma of witnessing an ultra-sound guided abortion, which led to her conversion. Her book was turned into a movie and was released in theaters in 2019.

National organizers report that since the first 40 Days for Life in 2007, more than 18,000 babies have been spared from abortion; 107 abortion facilities have closed, and 211 abortion workers have quit their jobs.

Locally, organizers report more than 20 babies have been spared from abortion in the last 12 years because of the public prayer and alternative resources offered to women in crisis.

“It makes a big difference. It gives women a chance to have a second thought. It also encourages them to know there is help available, always having signs down here that say there’s help available and assistance available to them,” said Tim Biggins, chair of the Diocese of Springfield’s Pro-Life Commission.

Among the pro-life agencies which help women facing a crisis pregnancy are Bethlehem House Pregnancy Care Center in Easthampton; New Directions in North Adams; Alternatives Pregnancy Center in Greenfield; and Clearway Clinic in Springfield. All four non-profits are supported by the Annual Catholic Appeal.

Father Daniel Pacholec, pastor of Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament Parish in Westfield, was also in attendance. Bishop Byrne has appointed Father Pacholec as the Diocesan Director of Pro-Life Activities.

 “It was a wonderful experience to be with the bishop and so many people who are committed to the pro-life movement in our diocese,” said Father Pacholec.

The 40 Days for Life campaign is scheduled each spring to coincide with Lent and again during Respect Life Month in October.

The campaign is still in need of volunteers to pray in front of the clinic. For more information, go to https://www.40daysforlife.com/en/springfield