The bell, an initiative of the “Yes to Life” Foundation, was rung for the first time by Francis in 2020. This year it will be sent to Kazakhstan. “It will remind us of the need to protect human life from conception to natural death,” Francis said at the general audience. The Archbishop of Astana: may it be a reminder of the sanctity of life in every country
Don Paweł Rytel-Andrianik and Don Jakub Nagi – Vatican City
This year too, Pope Francis blessed the bell “The voice of the unborn”, the symbol coming from Poland which with its tolling wants to remember the value of life from conception to natural death and to be the voice of children who will not be born. The small ceremony took place this morning, May 15, before the general audience in St. Peter’s Square. Right at the end of the catechesis of the audience, Francis, greeting the Polish pilgrims, referred to the bell.
I cordially greet all Poles. The Holy Spirit always raises us to a great selfless love towards the poor, the sick and the defenseless, such as unborn children. Today there is with us a bell brought from Poland, called ‘The Voice of the Unborn’, which will be brought to Kazakhstan. It will remind us of the need to protect human life from conception to natural death
The Pope also greeted the creators of this initiative: the Polish Foundation “Yes to Life (Życiu Tak), which bears the name of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
The blessing ceremony
A reminder of the sanctity of life
As anticipated by the Pontiff, the bell will then be sent to Kazakhstan. Archbishop Tomasz Peta, Metropolitan of Astana, in an interview with Vatican Radio – Vatican News declares: “The blessing of the bell today was very familiar and personal. The Holy Father’s great joy was visible. The Pope together with the children rang the first ring of the bell. It was a great event, because the question of the defense of life until natural death is a global problem. These bells – as the Foundation has highlighted Yes to Life – must be a reminder of the sanctity of life in every country”.
For his part, the president of the Foundation, Bogdan Romaniuk, explains to the Vatican media that ever since the Pope blessed the first bell, he hoped that it could awaken the consciences of legislators and people of good will in the protection of life.
Pope Francis greets some children
The bell in the world
The first bell “The Voice of the Unborn” was made in 2020 in Poland. The fifth commandment of the Decalogue is engraved on the bell “Do not kill”. It was first played by the Pope on 23 September 2020 before a general audience in the Vatican. Other bells were created in 2022, for Ukraine and Ecuador, in 2023 for Zambia.
