Next October 22, on the feast of Saint John Paul II, the bells will ring on four continents The voice of the unborn to ask for human life and peace in the world, especially in Ukraine.
The bell The voice of the unborn is an initiative that was born in Poland, the homeland of Saint John Paul II, thanks to the Yes to Life Foundation (Life Yes Foundationin Polish). The first of these was presented on August 26, 2020, during the feast of the Virgin of Czestochowa.
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From there the initiative spread to Zambia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Ecuador. It arrived in this last country on February 12, 2022, being installed in the Archdiocese of Guayaquil.
Each of these bells carry messages in favor of life, such as the phrase from the Book of the prophet Jeremiah, in which God tells him: “Before I formed you in your mother’s womb, I already knew you. Before you were born, I already consecrated you,” and the fifth commandment “Thou shalt not kill.”
Likewise, in order for the five bells to ring at the same time, it has been established that in Ecuador it rings at noon, in Zambia at 7 p.m., in Poland at 7 p.m., in Ukraine at 8 p.m. and in Kazakhstan at midnight.
Additionally, people are invited to recite the prayer that Saint John Paul II prayed during his visit to Hiroshima on February 25, 1981 to ask for peace.
For this occasion, the organizers of the event on October 22 added to the final phrase a request for the lives of the unborn.
The prayer is the following:
And to the Creator of nature and of man, of truth and beauty, I beseech:
Listen to my voice, for it is the voice of the victims of all wars and violence between individuals and nations.
Listen to my voice, because it is the voice of all the children who suffer and will suffer when people put their faith in weapons and war.
Listen to my voice when I ask you to instill in the hearts of all men the wisdom of peace, the strength of justice and the joy of brotherhood.
Listen to my voice, for I speak for the multitudes of all countries and all periods of history who do not want war and are prepared to walk paths of peace.
Hear my voice and grant us discernment and strength so that we can always respond to hate with love, to injustice with total dedication to justice, to need by sharing our own, to war with peace.
Oh God! Hear my voice, hear The voice of the unborn! and grant your eternal peace throughout the world.
Eduardo Berdejo
Professional in Social Communication from the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos in Peru, I have more than 20 years of experience in Catholic digital journalism. As part of ACI Prensa I have been sent to cover Pope Francis’ trips to Cuba, Mexico, Colombia and Peru, in addition to the Synodality Synod in the Vatican in 2023.