Thousands of roses are being delivered to the Washington, D.C., office of Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, as part of a prayer campaign to help her change her mind about legal abortion.
The “Rose and Rosary for Nancy” campaign was initiated September 29 by San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone. Pelosi, a Democrat, is a resident of San Francisco and a Catholic. She also holds strong positions in support of legal abortion.
Following Archbishop Cordileone’s call, thousands of Catholics signed up at BenedictInstitute.org, pledging to pray at least one rosary a week for Pelosi and fast on Fridays for her conversion. The Archdiocese of San Francisco pledged to send one rose for each person who signed up.
The gesture is reminiscent of the early days of the March for Life, when pro-life activists were encouraged to send a rose to their members of Congress on the anniversary of the 1973 Roe v Wade decision that liberalized abortion laws nationwide.
By the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe on December 12, 16,381 Catholics have made this commitment. On that day, a large shipment of roses were sent to Pelosi’s office, and about 100 roses a day will continue to be sent.
“That is a lot of roses,” Archbishop Cordileone tweeted. “Each one a soul praying and fasting fervently for Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s conversion to respect for the equal dignity of every human life. Thanks to each one of the 16,381 people who joined this campaign.”