A papal message sent through Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin offers Pope Leo's prayers and comfort for all parents who've lost a child.
Here is the papal message:
His Holiness Pope Leo XIV sends prayerful good wishes to those participating in the 2026 Day for Life [this Sunday 21 June] to be celebrated by the Bishops’ Conferences of England and Wales, Scotland and Ireland. His Holiness was pleased to learn of the theme chosen for this year, focused on the wonder of the full humanity of the child in the womb, as well as of your efforts to support mothers and fathers who have suffered the loss of an infant. Indeed, as he recently reminded us in the Encyclical Magnifica Humanitas, from the very moment of conception every human being is endowed with an infinite dignity “simply by virtue of existing, of having been willed, created and loved by God” (No 52).
This divine love fills the life of every person with meaning, and, far from ending with death, invites us to a new fullness in eternity. His Holiness prays that all parents grieving the loss of a child, especially an infant, may find comfort and peace in the knowledge of God’s love for them and for their child, “for to him all of them are alive” (Lk 20:38). It is likewise his hope that these parents find the support they need in the Church community and especially in a life nourished by prayer and by the Sacraments.
In thanking you for your continued commitment to bear witness to the marvelous gift of life in all its grandeur and inherent dignity, the Holy Father assures all taking part of his prayerful closeness and cordially imparts his Apostolic Blessing as a pledge of comfort, strength and peace in Christ.
Bishops' message
The Bishops’ Conferences of Ireland, Scotland and England and Wales jointly published a statement for the 2026 Day, with the theme: The Wonder of the Child in the Womb – Reflecting on the humanity of the unborn.
The Day for Life in these countries falls on Father's Day.
Read about the message below:
