A bell from Poland, ‘Voice of the Unborn, will sound in Ecuador.
On Saturday, February 12, in the cathedral of St. Peter the Apostle in Guayaquil, Ecuador, an unusual ceremony will take place. At 10:30 local time, a solemn Mass will be celebrated, combined with the introduction of the bell “Voice of the Unborn”, which was consecrated by Pope Francis in Rome on October 27, 2021. The bell was created on the initiative of the ‘Yes to Life’ foundation of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
The ‘Yes to Life’ Foundation has three bells called “Voice of the Unborn”. The first one was created in 2020 and it was the response of its vice-president Bogdan Romaniuk to the information about the number of unborn children killed each year.
“Over 42 million children worldwide are killed as a result of abortions each year. After reading this information on one of the websites in December 2019, I proposed to the board of the ‘Yes to Life’ foundation of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, making a bell in the bell foundry of Jan Felczyński in Przemyśl, ‘reported Vice President Romaniuk.
The Foundation’s first bell was also blessed by Pope Francis; has its base in the parish of All Saints in Kolbuszowa in Subcarpathia, but takes part in various pro-life events throughout Poland, incl. in marches for life.
On Friday, October 8, 2021, at the Ludwisarska Jan Felczyński Studio in Przemyśl, a ceremony of casting (birth) of two more bells, “Voice of the Unborn”, was held, this time for Ecuador and Ukraine. They were blessed by Pope Francis on 27th October at St. Peter’s in Rome. Ukraine and Ecuador asked the Foundation themselves with a request to prepare the “Voice of the Unborn” bells for them. Archbishop Mieczysław Mokrzycki, Archbishop of Lviv, and Archbishop Luis Cabrera Herrera from Ecuador asked the Pope for their consecration.
“We are very happy as the ‘Yes to Life’ foundation of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary that the initiative is expanding, ”said Bogdan Romaniuk last year, expressing his joy in an interview with Family News Service.
The home for the bell for Ukraine is the parish of St. John Paul II in Lviv, where Fr. Grzegorz Draus resides. The second, on the other hand, found its destination in the Ecuadorian archdiocese of Guayaquil.
On the occasion of the ceremony of introducing the bell “Voice of the Unborn” to the cathedral in Guayaquil, special keyrings depicting a miniature version of the bell were prepared. On these keyrings is an inscription taken from the encyclical of St. John Paul II “Evangelium Vitae”: “Respect, defend, love life and serve life – every human life!”.
The ‘Yes to Life’ Foundation is based in Rzeszów. Through various initiatives and projects, it actively reminds us of the need to protect human life from conception until natural death. One of the most important initiatives is the “Voice of the Unborn” bells.
More information about the activities of the ‘Yes to Life’ Foundation and the bells “Voice of the Unborn”, as well as photos from the ceremony of their casting and blessing can be found on the website and social media.
