Catholic Exchange

Eduardo Verástegui, Latin American superstar and the lead of the pro-life film “Bella,” is hosting the first ever Latino United for Life Family Congress this Sunday at the Los Angeles Convention Center. The Congress will raise funds for pro-life projects and will feature an assortment of pro-life entertainers, actors, and speakers throughout the day.

“The funds raised … will be used to open a medical center in Los Angeles that provides free, high-quality care for pregnant women and their preborn babies,” stated Eduardo Verástegui in a press release.

Verástegui said the forthcoming Guadalupe Medical Center will be situated in an area that has ten abortion clinics, making the center “an oasis of life in the midst of a desert of death.” The dream of building a pro-life medical center in L.A. has been on the Catholic performer’s mind for several years, after he discovered that at least nine abortion clinics were operating within a one mile stretch of the city.

The event starts at 8 a.m. and will last until 7 p.m at the LA Convention Center. Many entertainers will be on hand including singers Emmanuel and Alexander Acha, Mariachi Sol de Mexico, impersonator Gilberto Gless, and actress Karyme Lozano. Pro-life speakers include former Planned Parenthood director Abby Johnson, and the vibrant young Australian actor Nick Vujicic, who was born without limbs, but who inspires people throughout the world with his witness. Vujicic and Verástegui co-starred in the award-winning short film, The Butterfly Circus.

“Just as Latinos have had their dignity undermined by negative stereotypes in the media, so too have preborn babies had their dignity denied since the controversial 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision,” said Verástegui. “It is the mission of Manto de Guadalupe to promote the dignity of the human person with a special focus on restoring honor and dignity to Latinos – from the child in her father’s arms to the child in her mother’s womb, from the embryo to the elderly.”

The United for Life congress is the brainchild of Manto de Guadalupe, an international aid organization founded by Verástegui, and dedicated to promoting the dignity of the human person throughout the world and bringing relief to those suffering extreme poverty. The group’s projects include building homes, delivering food and medicine, and providing lifesaving assistance to impoverished pregnant women.

Jason Jones, founder of the Human rights Education and Relief Organization (HERO), will speak at the pro-life pro-family congress as well.  Verástegui and Jones have collaborated on many missions promoting the dignity of the human person, including bringing a message of hope to prison inmates in Texas and delivering lifesaving supplies to the poor and oppressed in Darfur, Sudan.

“The threat to innocent life isn’t limited to the poorest nations.  We need to be vigilant in promoting the dignity and incomparable worth of every human person right where we are,” stated Verástegui.

To learn more click here (in Spanish)
To purchase tickets visit here.