Contact: Leslie Palma, Priests for Life, 347-286-7277

WASHINGTON, Jan. 15, 2013 /Christian Newswire/ -- The National Memorial for the Preborn and their Mothers and Fathers (NationalPrayerService.com), the premier prayer event this year marking 40 years since Roe vs. Wade, will occur this year much closer to the White House than in the past.

Organizers have announced that the proximity to the White House is particularly appropriate this year, given the re-election of the President and the threats this poses to the right to life and religious liberty.

The prayer service, with leaders representing denominations across the full Christian spectrum, will include prayer specifically for President Obama and his administration, and focused specifically on begging God for the grace of repentance and the gift of wisdom to come upon them.

The service will be held on Friday, January 25 from 8:30 to 10:30am at DAR Constitution Hall, 1776 D St., NW (18th and D St). There will be a Catholic Mass available there at 7:30 a.m.

"We need public servants who know the difference between serving the public and killing the public," said Fr. Frank Pavone, National Director of Priests for Life and President of the National Pro-life Religious Council. "When Scripture commands us to pray for those in authority, it says we should do this in order that we can live tranquil lives. In other words, we pray that those in authority will know how to protect life, not destroy it."

Participants in the prayer service will be asked to commit themselves to including this intention in their daily prayers throughout the year. Moreover, religious leaders will be called to incorporate into their pastoral practice a regular call to pray for the President by name, that he will begin making efforts to protect the unborn rather than to protect the abortion industry.

Fr. Paul CB Schenck, founding director and chairman of the National Pro-Life Center on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., stated, "Abortion is a matter of public welfare and most of all of respect for human life and dignity. We will pray and work to end the disrespect of human life represented by the billion dollar abortion trade and to reinstate laws that protect the preborn, their mothers and families." 

For more information and promotional materials on the service, please visit NationalPrayerService.com.

Priests for Life is the nation's largest Catholic pro-life organization dedicated to ending abortion and euthanasia. For more information, visit www.priestsforlife.org.