This morning Pope Francis blessed the “Voice of the Unborn” bell, which will be taken to Kazakhstan. “It will serve as a reminder of the importance of protecting human life from conception to natural death,” said Pope Francis during today’s General Audience.

“The Holy Spirit always raises us to a higher level of selfless and practical love towards the poor, the sick and the vulnerable, such as conceived children” – said the Pope during today’s general audience. He stressed that the bell is called the “Voice of the Unborn” and “will serve as a reminder of the importance of protecting human life from conception to natural death”.

Archbishop Thomas Peta, Metropolitan of Astana, Kazakhstan told Vatican Radio – Vatican News in an interview: “The consecration of the bell was a very family oriented and personal event. One could see the enormous joy of the Holy Father. The Pope, together with the children, was the first to sound the bell. It was a momentous event as the question of defending life from conception to natural death is a worldwide concern. According to the Yes to Life Foundation, such bells are to be installed in every country to remind us of the sanctity of life”.

The Pope greeted those behind the initiative, the Yes to Life Foundation of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Its president, Bogdan Romaniuk, told Vatican Radio – Vatican News that when blessing the first bell, the Pope observed that it should awaken the consciences of lawmakers and people of good will regarding the protection of life from conception to natural death.

The first “Voice of the Unborn” bell was cast in 2020 in Poland. Emblazoned on the bell is the fifth commandment of the Decalogue “Thou shalt not kill” and the words of the defender of life, Blessed Father Jerzy Popiełuszko: “The child’s life begins under the mother’s heart”. The bell was set in motion for the first time by Pope Francis on 23 September 2020, during a general audience at the Vatican. More bells were created in 2022, this time for Ukraine and Ecuador, in 2023 for Zambia, and in 2024 for Kazakhstan.

Fr. Paweł Rytel-Andrianik, Fr. Jakub Nagi, vaticannews.va/pl