National pro-life leaders remembered two early Christian martyrs, Sts. Perpetua and Felicity, on their feast day March 7.
“Saints Perpetua and Felicity — two devoted Christian mothers — are pro-life inspirations, caring for their children — in the case of Saint Felicity, her child in the womb — and living their maternal vocations up until the moment of their martyrdom,” Jennie Bradley Lichter, president of the March for Life, told Our Sunday Visitor in emailed comments.
Perpetua, an educated noblewoman, and Felicity, a slave, died for their faith in Carthage, an ancient city in what is now Tunisia in North Africa, in 203. Despite their different statuses, the young women shared something in common: Both were Christian mothers. While awaiting death in prison, Perpetua nursed her infant son and Felicity gave birth to a daughter.
Lichter, together with Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life of America and Students for Life Action, and Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, commended the pro-life witness of these two holy women. They spoke not only as leaders of the national pro-life movement but also as Catholic mothers.
A pro-life response
For her part, Hawkins said that the stories of these saints “powerfully exemplify the loving and life-affirming message of the pro-life movement.”
“Despite facing the brutal reality of martyrdom, and enduring harsh, unimaginable conditions, these Christian mothers chose to protect and care for their children, even breastfeeding or giving birth while imprisoned,” she said in an email response. “Their example is a powerful inspiration for any mother today who struggles to envision a bright future with her child.”
The two saints, she said, embody selflessness.
“Saints Perpetua and Felicity placed both Christ and their children above their own suffering, which is the ultimate calling for every mother,” she said. “While the Church is filled with inspiring stories of countless saints, it is those mothers who achieved sainthood that resonate most deeply with me.”
“On the Feast Day of Sts. Perpetua and Felicity,” Hawkins added, we remembered “that Motherhood, with its unique joys and trials, offers every woman the path to holiness and, ultimately, to heaven.”
As president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, Marjorie Dannenfelser commented on the strength of the saints’ faith.
“Perpetua and Felicity were courageous mothers, persecuted by the authorities of their day, who stayed true to their convictions to the end,” Dannenfelser said in an email.
Their example, she said, made her think of the pro-life activists convicted of violating the federal Freedom of Access to Clinics Entrances (FACE) Act who gave witness to the unborn in prison before they recently received a presidential pardon.
“The fact that these maternal saints have been honored since the earliest days shows the Church’s commitment to the dignity of life and of women,” Dannenfelser said. “They can serve as excellent role models for all of us in the pro-life movement to stand for truth and love today.”
Models of motherhood
Lichter admired the saints’ trust in God as mothers.
“They must have been devastated by the thought of leaving their children behind when they faced death — as any mother would be,” she said. “But they are beautiful models for every parent of entrusting our children to the Lord, who loves and cares for them even beyond our human capacity.”
On the Feast of Sts. Perpetua and Felicity, Lichter asked for their intercession, “that with their fierce and fearless mothers’ hearts they will invoke the Lord’s protection over babies like their own, born and unborn, and the Lord’s strength for all mothers facing adversity.”
