National Prayer Vigil for Life

Note: The Vigil Program will be televised by EWTN and livestreamed on the Basilica’s webpage. Please see the most updated 2024 Vigil schedule and visit the Frequently Asked Questions page for additional information.

 

To see the schedule and access the livestream links for the bishop-led overnight holy hours during January 18–19, please click here.

National Prayer Vigil for Life

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Photograph courtesy of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Washington, D.C.

The National Prayer Vigil for Life is a prayer vigil held on the eve of the March for Life each January. Thousands of pilgrims from across the nation pray for an end to abortion and a greater respect for all human life. It is held at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C.

The National Prayer Vigil for Life is one small part of the Church's "great prayer for life." It is sponsored by the USCCB Pro-Life Secretariat, the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, and The Catholic University of America Office of Campus Ministry.

A great prayer for life is urgently needed, a prayer which will rise up throughout the world. Through special initiatives and in daily prayer, may an impassioned plea rise to God, the Creator and lover of life, from every Christian community, from every group and association, from every family and from the heart of every believer. —Pope Saint John Paul II, Evangelium Vitae