Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children

U.S. Particular Day of Prayer and Penance

Feast Day

January 22

January 22 is observed in all dioceses of the United States as a particular day of penance for violations to the dignity of the human person committed through acts of abortion, and of prayer for the full restoration of the legal guarantee of the right to life. The observance is inscribed in the Proper Calendar for the Dioceses of the United States approved by the Holy See and is listed each year in the USCCB Liturgical Calendar.

The date marks the anniversary of the United States Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade (January 22, 1973), which removed legal protection from unborn children. Although that decision was reversed by the Court's 2022 ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has retained the observance as a day of prayer and penance for the protection of every human life from conception to natural death.

The General Instruction of the Roman Missal authorizes the use of the Mass "For Giving Thanks to God for the Gift of Human Life" or, on weekdays in Ordinary Time when liturgical law permits, the votive Mass "For the Preservation of Peace and Justice." Liturgical color is violet on this day in the United States as a sign of penance, except where another celebration takes precedence.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church (n. 2270-2275) teaches that "human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception" and that "direct abortion, that is, abortion willed either as an end or a means, is gravely contrary to the moral law."