Pro-life leader celebrates Vatican Nativity dedicated to 25K babies who weren’t aborted
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
A FIRST ON FOX: The leader of an international pro-life organization praised the Nativity scene, which was installed by the Vatican and brought attention to the more than 25,000 babies not aborted this year, thanks to the group’s outreach initiatives.
In an interview with Fox News Digital, 40 Days for Life CEO and founder Shawn Carney said the Vatican had reached out to his organization about creating a Nativity scene that would include prayers and vigils outside abortion clinics to represent the babies he said were saved by the group’s pro-life activism.
“It’s really beautiful,” Carney said.
“The artist made the hay in the manger where the Baby Jesus, Mary and Joseph were,” he continued. “The cotton consists of 25,000 stripes. Each strip represents a boy or girl saved from abortion during the 40 Days for Life campaign.”
POPE XIV LEO CONDEMNS ‘YAMI ENEMY VIOLENCE’ AFTER MASSACRE IN SYDNEY: ‘WE MUST ELIMINATE HATE’
A nativity scene in the Paul VI Hall in the Vatican, donated by Costa Rica, depicting the Madonna pregnant. (Getty Images)
Created by Costa Rican artist Paula Sáenz Soto and donated by the Central American country, this photograph features pregnant Mary and Joseph, as well as thousands of colorful ribbons dedicated to babies who were not aborted.
Pope Leo XIV At a recent meeting with donors of the Vatican’s Christmas decorations, he said a sign of life was reflected in the Nativity scene in the Vatican’s reception hall, which he described as a sign of “faith and hope.”
The pope, who personally blessed the exhibition, said that each of the ribbons adorning the stage “represents a life saved from abortion, thanks to the prayers and support provided by Catholic organizations to many mothers in need.”
Leo also thanked the artist for giving the message that “life is protected from fertilization.”
Carney said the Nativity was “inspiring” and “beautiful news,” especially amid a recent spate of bad news in the United States and around the world.
“It’s very inspiring, and frankly we’ve had a lot of bad news in America and around the world lately, and this exhibit represents good news,” he told Fox News Digital.
Pope Leo XIV prays in front of the Nacimiento Gaudium, a nativity scene depicting the Virgin Mary pregnant, in the Paul VI Hall in the Vatican. (40 Days for Life)
“It represents babies who have been saved from abortion, and the artist from Costa Rica, who is a 40 Days for Life participant, has done a wonderful job making this beautiful exhibit that really shows the dedication of so many pro-life volunteers around the world who give their time in the hope of saving a baby. And now these rescued babies are represented in the most important place on earth, which is represented at the Nativity, where we place our hope that Jesus came into the world through a family to save us from our sins,” he continued.
“So it’s good news, it’s good news, and I think it’s welcome news because we’ve had so much bad news over the last few weeks,” Carney added.
Carney went on to explain that the Nativity “is at the heart of Catholicism and all Christians and certainly the pro-life movement.”
“That’s why we do what we do,” he said. “Our Lord could have come out of an acorn and saved us from our sins. He didn’t do that. God chose a family, a holy family, a 14-year-old virgin, to bring his son into the world through the womb, which is statistically the most dangerous place in the world right now. He chose the womb, he chose a family, and the family is under attack. So it’s a beautiful nativity show, but I think it speaks to the heart of every Christian who’s looking for hope in the world. He’s looking for hope to overcome our own sins and end the tragedy in our world and the barbarity of abortion.” “The world is leading the way in this regard, hoping that we can achieve this.” “We had a historic year for the pro-life movement in 2025, and I think 2026 will be even better,” he added. “This show absolutely inspires so much hope and confidence that if we pray, fast, be faithful, and get to work, we can end abortion everywhere.”
Carney also emphasized that the Nativity of a pregnant Mary with an unborn Jesus “expresses the scientific reality of the unborn child and the biblical reality that our Lord came from the womb.”
AN INCREASE IN CUSTOMERS WAS OBSERVED IN PRO-LIFE PREGNANCY CENTERS AFTER THE SUPREME COURT DECISION: STUDY
According to Catholic organizations, ribbons representing lives saved from abortion were presented to Pope Benedict XIV at the Vatican. The audience led by Leo appears in the Nacimiento Gaudium, a Nativity scene set in the Paul VI Hall. (AP)
“The Nativity is one of the most depicted scenes in world history and represents that great meeting between Heaven and earth, the coming of Christ into the world through a child nine months after the Annunciation,” he said. “So it’s absolutely beautiful. It highlights how we treat our unborn children, with 72 million abortions every year worldwide. This is by far the greatest moral crisis of our time, and we must respond. We must respond with great hope, and you can’t find greater hope than Jesus coming into the world and being with us on Christmas Day.”
CLICK TO DOWNLOAD FOX NEWS APPLICATION
The pro-life leader also noted that the pope “will be a stronger voice than most people think” on abortion.
“I think he’s righting the ship,” Carney said. “I think he speaks a little more clearly than what we see from Pope Francis. Pope Leo was very supportive of the pro-life movement. He was certainly very supportive of 40 Days for Life with this beautiful Nativity at the Vatican, so I’m very encouraged.”
