Homeschool students at St. Ann Church, led by Father Timothy Reid, pastor, pray the Memorare after Mass May 19 as part of a grassroots prayer effort in response to Planned Parenthood’s plan to expand its abortion services in Charlotte. (Photo provided by Markus Kuncoro)CHARLOTTE — Pro-life advocates are springing into action following news that a fourth abortion mill is expected to open in Charlotte and that city leaders are considering changes to a noise ordinance that would limit protest activity outside medical buildings. They are calling on all Catholics to get involved in standing up for the protection of life.
“A Catholic presence is needed in this fight for the unborn, and the time for action is now,” says Jessica Grabowski, director of the Diocese of Charlotte’s Respect Life program.
Grabowski, members of the Carolina Pro-Life Action Network (C-PLAN) and other pro-life leaders in Charlotte have been organizing ways for people to mobilize, including a Forty Hours Devotion coming up May 30-June 1 at St. Patrick Cathedral.
The cathedral is situated only about a mile from the new site of Planned Parenthood South Atlantic’s Charlotte Health Center, which is expected to offer expanded services including abortions. Planned Parenthood reportedly plans to move to 700 S. Torrence St. in July from its current location on Albemarle Road.
“As a diocese, we can come together to pray to have abortion ended in our city,” says Andrea Hines, a pro-life activist who had an abortion in college and now speaks about her experience as part of Silent No More and has helped coordinate 40 Days for Life campaigns. “We’re hoping people from all over the diocese participate.”
Since May 1, pro-life supporters have already been taking part in a 40 Day Vigil outside the new Planned Parenthood facility. Every day until Pentecost, June 9, at least one person is praying silently near the facility for at least one hour.
“The theme throughout all of this is love and peace,” Hines says. “Being silent really makes a difference.”
In partnership with the diocese’s Respect Life Office, C-PLAN is also facilitating communication and coordination among Catholic pro-life advocates and clergy to mobilize the faithful both in the public square and in parishes.
Father Peter Ascik of St. Matthew Church, Hines and other pro-life advocates recently talked to neighbors of the new facility in the historic Cherry neighborhood and handed out informational fliers about Planned Parenthood to mixed reviews.
“As people who live nearby the new facility have gotten word about it, there are some people who wish it success,” Hines says. “There are others who are upset about it.”
Pro-life organizers are also fighting proposed changes to Charlotte’s noise ordinance, which would limit amplified noise within 200 feet from the boundaries of schools, houses of worship and medical facilities during business hours. City officials have said this change is aimed at quelling protests outside abortion facilities.
Here is a list of upcoming prayer efforts being organized:
FORTY HOURS DEVOTION:
In response to the new Planned Parenthood facility opening in Charlotte, all the faithful of the diocese are invited to participate in a special Forty Hours Devotion.
The 40 consecutive hours of Eucharistic Adoration will take place at St. Patrick Cathedral, located at 1621 Dilworth Road East, only about a mile from the new Planned Parenthood facility. It will be held Thursday, May 30, through Saturday, June 1, ending with a silent, prayerful procession to the site of the facility.
The prayerful effort is in honor of Our Lady’s Immaculate Heart and her Queenship, as well as our Lord’s Precious Body and Blood.
Adoration and prayer begins at 1 p.m. May 30 and continues through 8 a.m. June 1. Following Mass at 8 a.m., people will process behind a relic of the True Cross to the site of the planned abortion facility to pray for the protection of the unborn.
A Solemn High Mass in the Extraordinary Form will also be offered at 7 p.m. Friday, May 31, at St. Patrick Cathedral in honor of the Queenship of Mary.
To serve as an adorer during the 40 hours of Adoration and prayer, sign up online at www.stpatricks.org/forty-hours.
MEMORARE PRAYERS
Students in a Charlotte homeschooling group have begun praying the Memorare in response to the news about Planned Parenthood, and everyone in the diocese is encouraged to join with them. The goal is to pray one Memorare for every dollar that Planned Parenthood spent on its new facility – that’s 2,350,000 prayers for the $2.35 million price tag – by the feast of the Assumption, Aug. 15.
Help them out with their Memorare prayer effort by praying as individuals, families, groups or parishes. To collect the numbers of Memorares prayed, record your prayers at www.signupgenius.com/go/8050e4dada629a5ff2-stop. Pray for the intention of the protection of the unborn, especially in Charlotte that new abortion clinic may not be opened.
The Memorare prayer is: “Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thine intercession was left unaided. Inspired by this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins, my mother; to thee do I come, before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in thy mercy hear and answer me. Amen.”
SPEAK OUT AGAINST NOISE ORDINANCE
The Charlotte City Council will consider changes to the city’s noise ordinance at several upcoming meetings at the Charlotte Mecklenburg Government Center, located at 600 E. Fourth St., Charlotte. You can bring signs and there is free parking at the parking garage off Davidson Street. Sign up to speak at either meeting at www.charlottenc.gov/CityClerk/Pages/Speak.aspx or call 704-336-2248.
Pro-life supporters are encouraged to attend and sign up to speak at the Tuesday, May 28, meeting. A public forum is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Monday, June 10. This will be a great opportunity to speak about the proposed “quiet zone amendment” to the noise ordinance, pro-life advocates say.
The City Council is scheduled to vote on the proposed changes during its June 24 meeting, which starts at 6:30 p.m. To speak at the meeting, you must sign up in advance.
For more about how you can help make your voice heard to city leaders, contact Linda Mooney at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 704-589-3930.
Get involved
All Catholics are called to defend the intrinsic dignity of all human life, from conception to natural death. Get involved with ongoing pro-life work by joining your parish’s Respect Life Ministry, and also in the Charlotte area by going online to C-PLAN’s website, www.prolifecharlotte.org.
If your parish does not have an active Respect Life ministry, start one yourself – contact Respect Life Program Director Jessica Grabowski at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for help.
— Kimberly Bender, Online reporter
Memorare effort has spiritual connection to Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa opened the first convent for the Missionaries of Charity in Charlotte in 1995, accompanied by then Bishop William Curlin. The convent, now a private residence, is just a few blocks away from Planned Parenthood’s new abortion facility on South Torrence Street. (File | Catholic News Herald) CHARLOTTE — The neighborhood where Planned Parenthood plans to open an abortion facility was once visited by a saint.
The Missionaries of Charity used to have a convent on South Torrence Street – just a couple blocks away from Planned Parenthood South Atlantic’s new Charlotte Health Center. St. Teresa of Calcutta herself opened the convent on June 13, 1995, during her visit to Charlotte in which she was also keynote speaker for an ecumenical prayer service that drew over 19,000 people to the Charlotte Coliseum.
“Today the greatest destroyer of peace is abortion because it is a war against the child, a direct killing of the innocent child, murdered by the mother herself,” Mother Teresa said during her visit to Charlotte. “If we can accept that the mother can kill even her own child, how can we tell people not to kill one another?”
Members of her order quietly care for the poorest and most vulnerable people, including pregnant women in need, in east Charlotte. In 2010, they moved to a poorer area of the city to continue their mission.
The current owners of the home, Nicholas and Gloriana Felten, bought the former convent at 236 S. Torrence St. from the Sisters, and they consider their home a gift that comes with responsibility.
“Mother Teresa stepped foot on this street,” Gloriana Felten says. “It’s a gift from heaven. It’s a blessing, but also a responsibility. Every gift comes with responsibility. We have to take care of that gift.”
Mother Teresa’s example helped to inspire the Memorare prayer effort against Planned Parenthood’s new facility, Felten notes. The saint prayed the Memorare any time she had a great need in support of her ministry.
“She prayed, and something happened,” Felten says. “If we have the faith, then we can do it, with the help of God. ‘Ask and you shall receive.’ We can do something with our prayers – whether it’s one Memorare or 20, every prayer counts. God is listening to our prayers.”
Catholics are being asked to pray the Memorare 2,350,000 times – one prayer for every dollar Planned Parenthood spent to buy the property on Torrence Street. Pray for this specific intention: “For the protection of the unborn, especially in Charlotte that the new abortion clinic may not be opened.” Catalog your prayers online at www.signupgenius.com/go/8050e4dada629a5ff2-stop. The link will track the number of decades (sets of 10) of Memorares that have been prayed so far. The goal is to achieve 235,000 decades of Memorare prayers prayed by the Feast of the Assumption, Aug. 15.
“Children are a gift, and it is our responsibility to protect children, especially the unborn,” Felten said. “Even children can help by praying Memorares. Everyone can do something. Even a small child can be really helpful with their prayers.”
— Patricia L. Guilfoyle, editor