US bishops: Novena for life to bring hundreds of thousands together in prayer for unborn

U.S. bishops are inviting Catholics worldwide to pray the “Nine Days for Life” novena beginning Jan. 16 to help protect the unborn.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) announced Jan. 5 that the novena is to prepare Catholics for the Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children on Jan. 22, which is the day before the National March for Life. 

The novena began in 2013 to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision, which legalized abortion in the U.S. and was overturned in 2022 in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision.

As the USCCB’s website explained, each state can now regulate its own abortion laws, meaning that prayers and actions are still needed to protect the unborn. 

“Since the novena began, it has reached hundreds of thousands of people in over one hundred countries spanning six continents,” the USCCB press office stated. “The overarching intention of the novena is the end to abortion.”

The daily prayer intentions include a reflection, educational resources to help the faithful understand the Church’s teachings on human life, and suggested acts of reparation, such as abstaining from meat or fasting from entertainment.