God is ready to fill it with His forgiveness, healing, and hope.
Are you Feeling:
The heavy weight of shame, guilt, or isolation?
Grief for the children lost?
The inability to forgive yourself or others?
Unworthy to receive forgiveness, help or love from God or the Church?
At the time, abortion may have seemed like the only answer. Pressure may have come from everywhere and support from almost nowhere. It was legal. It seemed sensible. But now it hurts. This pain comes in part from unresolved grief and loss. Abortion also causes physical, emotional, mental and spiritual wounds that can be healed (3 and 4).
In Christ, there is always hope.
You are not alone.
Research tells us that 24 percent of U.S. women have lost a child to abortion before age 45 and the same percentage identify as Catholic (1).
In addition, over 320,000 women and men have sought healing from abortion internationally since the 1990’s (2).
Read stories of hope and healing at:
While the Catholic Church is against abortion, we as a Church value all life, including yours. We also stand FOR the wounded, offering Jesus’ love, understanding, and forgiveness to all who suffer abortion trauma, Catholics and non-Catholics alike.
- Lost a child to abortion
- Are a parent, grandparent, sibling, or friend of someone who has
- Worked in the abortion industry
- Are a helper of the wounded, including clergy, educators, youth ministers, social workers, and counselors
About Your Healing Journey
Just as every person is unique so is each healing journey. The
Abortion Healing Ministry (AHM) of the Archdiocese of St. Louis offers many different resources to help you. Our trained, compassionate team will meet you where you are at with the confidential care you need every step of the way.
Our integrated approach to healing combines spiritual, emotional, and psychological support through:
- One-on-one pastoral care with confidential phone, text, and email hope lines
- Referral to a priest, sensitive to your particular needs, who will provide healing spiritual support including the Sacrament of Reconciliation
- Bible study and fellowship groups (click here for our AHM women's group flyer)
- Weekend healing retreat and aftercare follow-up through Rachel’s Vineyard Ministries (click here for the next retreat, February 2022)
- Day of Hope and Healing through Project Rachel (women) and Project Joseph (men) (click here for our next women's day retreat, April 2022)
- Spiritual direction and healing prayer through the Catholic Renewal Center
- Referrals to professional counseling
- Rachel Healing Garden
- Books, virtual resources and other support
Hope, Healing and a New Beginning
“There was a hole in my soul that could only be filled with God… At my one-day retreat, I thought I was sitting in a room with other women. I really was sitting in a room with Him, loving me and welcoming me home. I have found peace and forgiveness and mental wellness… I know that my child is with God. I know that my living children and my husband and I are also with God. We are all together today, in God’s hands.” - Brenda
“Being wounded by an abortion in our teens, we went through decades of silence, deep pain, and regret. But God wasn’t done with our story. Our healing began when we attended a Rachel’s Vineyard retreat and sought His forgiveness. We prayed together about our aborted son and named him Ryan Paul. Now we minister together to help other men and women wounded by abortion to find the same healing we did in Jesus Christ.” - Chuck & Linda
“It took me months to muster up the nerve to call…The voice on the other end was full of hope. My journey of healing began that day. Project Rachel literally lit the path for me. …the warmth of God’s love engulfed me. I was able to connect with other women who knew the despair that I knew, and we were able to experience the joy of receiving the gifts of hope and healing together...I will always regret my decision, but it no longer defines who I am. – Abby
Additional Resources
Hope After Abortion
Project Rachel is the U.S Catholic Church’s abortion healing ministry. It is a diocesan-based network of specially trained priests, religious, therapists, and laypersons who provide a team response of care for those suffering in the aftermath of abortion. In addition to referring for Sacramental Reconciliation, the ministry provides an integrated network of services, including pastoral counseling, spiritual direction, support groups, retreats, and referrals to licensed mental health professionals.
Recursos Espanoles
Rachel’s Vineyard
Support After Abortion
Catholic Renewal Center
Catholic Charities
Start your healing journey today. Confidential care is waiting for you at:
Abortion Healing Ministry, Archdiocese of St. Louis
Hopeline (call/text): 314.406.0815
FOOTNOTE
- guttmacher.org/fact-sheet/induced-abortion-united-states#
- liveaction.org/news/look-inside-worlds-largest-post-abortion-ministry
- https://hopeafterabortion.com/?page_id=213
- www.studentsforlife.org/abortionrisks/