Pro-life activist and professional model Mario St. Francis touched on his conversion story and shared experiences of witnessing for life with those attending the 40 Days for Life mid-point rally held at St. Philip the Apostle Church in Falls Church Oct. 16. For Mario, pro-life witness is a family affair. Along with his wife, Arlene, who is expecting, and four young children, he regularly prays on the sidewalk in front of an Alexandria abortion clinic.
Hosted by Father Denis M. Donahue, pastor, the interdenominational event drew 40 participants from across Northern Virginia including Haymarket residents Judy Cook and her husband, Rev. Bill Cook, who offered the opening prayer for the rally, and Jeanne Lee of Falls Church Anglican, who prays year-round at the Falls Church abortion clinic with other members of her congregation.
Representatives of four pregnancy resource centers in the area exhibited to demonstrate how they serve women before their child is born and for years afterward. Angela Clark of A Best Choice Mobile Ultrasound and Pregnancy Resource Center gave tours of a shiny new van that delivers prenatal services to women where they are. Also presenting at the rally were St. Philip parishioner Beth Whitehead of MaRiH Center in Alexandria, Ximena Bucaeli of A Woman’s Choice, and Mary Beth Cobble of Options Care Center, both in Falls Church.
Find out more
To join the 40 Days for Life fall campaign of prayer and fasting for an end to abortion, contact Joe Flaherty at [email protected] or visit 40daysforlife.com/en/fallschurch.
