National Director, Priests for Life
President, National Pro-life Religious Council
Pastoral Director, Rachel's Vineyard
Founder and Moderator General, Missionaries of
the Gospel of Life
Fr. Frank Pavone is one of the most prominent
pro-life leaders in the nation. He was born in Port Chester, New
York and has been active in the pro-life movement since 1976.
Cardinal John O'Connor ordained him to the priesthood in 1988.
Fr. Pavone did parish work and taught in seminaries. In 1993,
with the permission of Cardinal O’Connor, he became National
Director of Priests for Life. In this full time position, he has
traveled to all of the 50 states and to five continents,
preaching and teaching against abortion and helping other
priests to do the same.
He conducts seminars on pro-life strategy and is regularly
invited to speak at national and international pro-life
gatherings. Fr. Pavone appears often on national programs such
as Larry King Live, Good Morning America, The O'Reilly Factor,
and other shows on all the major networks. He is quoted in
papers such as the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times. He
is seen daily on EWTN and heard on Vatican Radio. His
publications are distributed worldwide. He was with Terri
Schiavo in her final moments and was an outspoken advocate for
her life.
Under Fr. Frank's leadership, the Priests for Life staff has
grown to 50 full-time employees.
Blessed Mother Teresa asked Fr. Pavone to address the clergy of
India on the life issues. He has addressed the pro-life caucus
of the United States House of Representatives, and was asked by
the Vatican to help co-ordinate pro-life activities throughout
the world as an official of the Pontifical Council for the
Family. Norma McCorvey, the “Jane Roe” of the Supreme Court’s
abortion decision Roe vs. Wade, called Fr. Pavone “the catalyst
that brought me into the Catholic Church.”
In 1999, Fr. Pavone was named among the Top 100 Catholics of the
Century. He serves on Dr. James Dobson's Focus on the Family
Institute. The National Right to Life Committee awarded him
their highest honor, the Proudly Pro-life Award. The Franciscan
University of Steubenville bestowed on him an honorary
doctorate, in recognition of his pro-life work. Fr. Pavone
currently serves as President of the National Pro-life Religious
Council, a coalition of groups from many different denominations
working to end abortion. He is also Pastoral Director and
Chairman of the Board of Rachel's Vineyard, an international
retreat program for post-abortion healing. In 2004, Fr. Frank
was granted permission by Bishop John Yanta to establish a new
community of priests permanently dedicated to full time pro-life
work. He is the first Moderator General of the Missionaries of
the Gospel of Life.
