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MERIDEN – Forty days of prayer and fasting, a pro-life conference and a special liturgy are among some of the planned highlights marking October’s Respect Life Month in the Archdiocese of Hartford and throughout parishes in the state.

Building upon the successful response of parishes last year, the Archdiocese will participate for a second year in the 40 Days for Life campaign that runs from Sept. 23 to Nov. 1 in more than 200 cities in the United States, Canada and Denmark.

Mary Lou Peters, archdiocesan coordinator, said organizers hope to get every parish to sign up and participate in the campaign, which is composed of three elements: prayer and fasting, constant vigil and community outreach.

For prayer and fasting, organizers are asking parishes to hold 24 hours of eucharistic adoration and encourage parishioners to fast – and "not just food fasting, but it could be television, shopping or using the Internet," said Mrs. Peters.

For the second component, parishes are asked to participate in a peaceful, 12-hour prayer vigil from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Hartford GYN Center located at 1 Main St. at some point during the 40 days.

The third element is to make the public aware of the evils of abortion and where abortions are taking place.

"In a nutshell, we will be participating with hundreds of thousands of people at the exact time in a concentrated prayerful vigil to stop abortion," said Mrs. Peters, who emphasized that the responsibility for the campaign is on the laity and parish pro-life leaders.

"Since this is the second year for archdiocesan participation, we anticipate even greater enthusiasm and results," said Mrs. Peters, who is also assistant program coordinator of the archdiocesan Pro-Life Ministry in Meriden.

She noted that in the last 18 months alone, the campaign has directly led to the saving of 1,561 babies – including 19 babies at the Hartford GYN Center.

"I believe that 40 Days for Life is uniting and reinvigorating pro-life activity in a way that hasn’t happened in the last 36 years," she said, "because it’s a way to pray and be publicly active in a peaceful way.It’s drawing attention to us in a very powerful way," she continued.

For the schedule for participating parishes,  click here.

For Respect Life Sunday, Oct. 4, Archbishop Henry J. Mansell will celebrate a Respect Life Mass at 2 p.m. at the Cathedral of St. Joseph in Hartford.

The children’s choir of St. Bernard Parish in Enfield will perform during the liturgy. The Archbishop will also commission pro-life representatives who have been appointed during the year in their parishes.

Also in observance of the special month, the 10th annual Respect Life Conference, sponsored by the Holy Angels Pro-Life Outreach Ministry in South Meriden, will take place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Oct. 17.

Father Tadeusz Pacholczyk, director of education for the National Catholic Bioethics Center in Philadelphia, will be the keynote speaker.

A noted theologian and bioethicist and priest of the Diocese of Fall River, Mass., Father Tad, as he is known, will give two talks: "Beginning of Life Issues: In vitro Fertilization and Assisted Reproductive Technologies and Human Embryos" and "Care and Treatment Decisions for Compromised Patients at the End of Life."

Archbishop Mansell will welcome attendees and offer an opening prayer. Basilian Father Douglas L. Mosey, president and rector of Holy Apostles College and Seminary in Cromwell, will celebrate a Respect Life Mass at noon.

Participants also will be given a choice of three workshops, by Keith Brilliant on "Abortion and the Crisis Pregnancy Center"; by Sister Mary Anne Linder of the Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist on "The Future of the World and the Church Passes through the Family"; or by Msgr. Robert Weiss, Pastor of St. Rose of Lima Parish in Newtown, on "Organizing and Maintaining a Parish Pro-Life, Pro-Family Committee: Successes and Failures."

The registration fee of $15 is all-inclusive. Checks, payable to Respect Life Conference, may be sent to Holy Angels Church, 585 Main St., South Meriden, CT 06451.