Spiritual Adoption

On August 30th, our parish will begin a Spiritual Adoption campaign — a nine‑month commitment to pray daily for an unborn child in danger of abortion. You will never meet this child in this life, but your prayers can help protect his or her life and bring comfort to the parents.

The idea of Spiritual Adoption was popularized by Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, a gifted communicator and tireless advocate for the dignity of every human life. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches, the dignity of the human person is rooted in creation in the image and likeness of God (CCC 1700). This means that every person possesses an intrinsic, inalienable worth that is not dependent on wealth, status, abilities, or achievements — it is a gift from God. This means we must respect life at all stages, oppose all practices that intentionally end life and commit to protecting life as we are able. At the beginning of 2026, Pope Leo XIV reflected “that the protection of the right to life constitutes the indispensable foundation of every other human right. A society is healthy and truly progresses only when it safeguards the sanctity of human life and works actively to promote it.”

Archbishop Sheen encouraged the faithful to “adopt” an unborn child spiritually, praying each day for that child’s safety and for the parents’ openness to life. Our prayers will unite our parish with other faithful witnesses around the world in a very real and powerful way.

This year, our prayers take on special joy and meaning as the Church prepares to celebrate Archbishop Sheen’s beatification on September 24, 2026, in St. Louis, Missouri. Beatification is the Church’s recognition that a person lived a life of heroic virtue and is now in Heaven, interceding for us. As we honor his witness, we can follow his example by embracing this simple but powerful pro‑life devotion.  

To help us see the miracle of life unfolding, our parish will also share regular updates on the baby’s development — from the first heartbeat to tiny fingers and toes — so we can marvel at God’s handiwork and be inspired to pray with even greater love. These updates will be included in the bulletin and on our parish website, helping us connect our prayers to the real, beautiful growth of a child in the womb.

How to Participate:

• Commit to praying one short prayer each day for nine months 
• Our parish spiritually adopted baby will be name "Louie". You may also name your own spiritually adopted child if you wish. 
• At the end of the nine months, we will celebrate with a parish “baby shower” for the Indianapolis Women's Care Center. 

Prayer cards will be available in the Narthex starting August 29th. Let us join Archbishop Sheen in defending life through prayer and love.