Pope Francis delivered a message of support and encouragement to those participating in the pro-life March for Life through his Secretary of State, saying he was “profoundly grateful” and close to them in prayer.

“His Holiness Pope Francis sends warm greetings and the assurance of his closeness in prayer,” the message reads, written by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, “to the many thousands of young people from throughout America gathered… for the annual March for Life.

“His Holiness is profoundly grateful for this impressive testimony to the sacredness of every human life.”

The message then quotes a line from the pontiff’s recent Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia on the illicitness of abortion: “so great is the value of a human life, and so inalienable the right to life of an innocent child growing in the mother’s womb, that no alleged right… can justify a decision to terminate that life.” (AE, 83)

After saying the Pope hopes the pro-life movement will be successful in attaining legal protection for unborn children, the message says “the Holy Father cordially imparts his Apostolic Blessing as a pledge of strength and peace in the Lord.”

Here is the full text of the message:

His Holiness Pope Francis sends warm greetings and the assurance of his closeness in prayer to the many thousands of young people from throughout America gathered in the Archdiocese of Washington and the Diocese of Arlington for the annual March for Life. His Holiness is profoundly grateful for this impressive testimony to the sacredness of every human life. As he has made clear, “so great is the value of a human life, and so inalienable the right to life of an innocent child growing in the mother’s womb, that no alleged right… can justify a decision to terminate that life” (Amoris Laetitia, 83). He trusts that this event, in which so many American citizens speak out on behalf of the most defenseless of our brothers and sisters, will contribute to a mobilization of conscience in defense of the right to life and effective measures to ensure its adequate legal protection. To all present the Holy Father cordially imparts his Apostolic Blessing as a pledge of strength and peace in the Lord.

Cardinal Pietro Parolin
Secretary of State

Thank you Pope Francis!

[See also: The Best Signs Spotted at the March for Life 2017!]

[See also: Breathtaking! Pro-Life Students Sing Enchanting Hymn in IL State Capitol]

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