By Gail Finke

40 Days for Life Spring prayer vigils in Cincinnati, Sharonville, and Dayton ended on Palm Sunday. This year the prayer vigil, which coincides with Lent, was held in 50 cities in Europe as well as in more than dozens of cities throughout North America.

While the campaign is open to anyone, many Catholic parishes participate. This year, the following parishes and Catholic organizations participated in either the Cincinnati or Sharonville campaigns, or both:

All Saints, Guilford, IN
All Saints, Walton, KY
Blessed Sacrament, Ft. Mitchell, KY
Cincinnati Right to Life
Good Shepherd
Greater Cincinnati Young Adults for Life
Guardian Angels
Helpers of God’s Precious Infants
Holy Trinity, Norwood
Immaculate Heart of Mary, Anderson Twp.
Mary’s Mantle for Life
Mother of God, Covington, KY
Mt. St. Mary’s Seminary of the West
Old St. Mary’s
Our Lady of Lourdes
Our Lady of the Rosary
Our Lady of the Visitation
Pregnancy Center East
St. Aloysius Gonzaga & St. Jude the Apostle Pastoral Region
St. Ann, Groesbeck
St. Anthony, Madisonville
St. Anthony, Taylor Mill, KY
St. Benedict, Covington, KY
St. Bernard, Taylors Creek
St. Boniface
St. Catherine of Siena, Ft. Thomas, KY
St. Cecilia, Oakley
St. Clement
St. Dominic
St. Edmund Campion Academy
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton
St. Francis Xavier
St. Gertrude
St. Henry, Erlanger, KY
St. Ignatius of Loyola
St. James of the Valley
St. John the Baptist, Dry Ridge
St. John the Evangelist, Deer Park
St. Joseph, Cold Spring, KY
St. Louis, Batesville, IN
St. Margaret of York
St. Margaret/St. John, Madisonville & Mariemont
St. Mary, Arnheim
St. Mary, Hyde Park
St. Matthias
St. Maximillian Kolbe
St. Michael
St. Nicholas, Sunman, IN
St. Patrick, Taylor Mill, KY
St. Paul, Florence, KY
St. Philip the Apostle
St. Susanna
St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, Bright, IN
St. Thomas More
St. Vincent Ferrer

Organizers say that because some come without signing up, some Catholic parishes and groups may not be recognized. Other churches, groups, and individuals participate as well.

Dayton doesn’t provide lists of participating groups, but its ecumenical core of enthusiastic volunteers are present all year long outside the Kettering abortion business owned by Martin Haskell, who also owns the Sharonville business. Currently only the Dayton location does surgical abortions, but women seen at the Sharonville business are referred to Dayton for “terminations.” Because it does late-term abortions (up to 24 weeks), the Dayton business also takes referrals from Cincinnati’s Planned Parenthood abortion center in Mt. Auburn.

Begun in Bryan, Texas, 40 Days for Life is a prayerful witness with that combines prayer and fasting with outreach and 40 continuous days of prayer outside an abortion business. Volunteers take one-hour shifts to pray for the women and their families, and for the doctors and staff to leave the abortion business. Since the first vigil in 2004, more than 80 abortion businesses have closed and many people have left the industry – several of them becoming pro-life activists.

Campaigns are held during Lent and in the fall. Protests and vigils are held at all three businesses throughout the year; see our story on Pro-Life events for dates and times.