Gabriel ‘Angels’ Bring Hope and Help

Pregnant women in crisis could always use an angel to look after them, and that’s just what the Gabriel Project provides. The pro-life referral program, which is being set up in the Catholic Archdiocese of New York, matches an expectant mother in need with a counselor, called an “angel,” who offers spiritual and emotional support to the woman and helps arrange for medical and financial assistance.

The goal is for the “angel” to become a friend who is available at any time, and who helps remove the fears and obstacles a young woman may face in keeping and delivering her unborn baby.

Parishes throughout the archdiocese, which spans seven counties from Staten Island to upstate Ulster, are being encouraged to post a Gabriel Project sign, which lists 800-866-4666 as a crisis helpline number. Parishes are also encouraged to recruit “angels” for any women who call for help. Other dioceses that have set up the program find that many women decide against abortion once they are introduced to a network of people who are willing to help.

The project will work in cooperation with the crisis pregnancy centers that have been counseling and referring women in the New York area for years, said Sister Dorothy Guadalupe, a member of the Sisters of Life, who is heading up the Gabriel Project for the New York Archdiocese.

“We will fill a need that is not being met in a particular area, and will be more than happy to work in cooperation with pregnancy centers that are already doing the job,” she said. “The idea is not to compete for clients, but to serve with love and compassion. If the pregnancy centers want to refer women to us, that’s fine. We also would be willing to refer women to the pregnancy centers for any services they may be able to provide. The key is what’s best for the woman and her baby.”

Successful Start
At St. Patrick’s Parish in Yorktown Heights, in upper Westchester County, the Gabriel Project has been running for more than three years.

“The experience of our parish is very positive,” said Maria Litrenta, the Gabriel Project coordinator. “If more parishes put the signs up and implemented Gabriel, it would become evident that the church is not just talking the pro-life talk, but walking the walk also.”

The parish pays for office and storage space for Gabriel project, and parishioners donate strollers, cribs, diapers, baby clothes and toys. In some cases they also provide financial aid to women who are behind in their rent or face mounting bills. “Money problems can take over, and the woman will worry how she can afford a baby,” Litrenta said. “If you get some of the money issues resolved, they can start to hear what you have to say.”

Expanding the Program
Sister Dorothy wants to build on the success of St. Patrick’s Parish and spread the Gabriel Project to parishes in each area of the archdiocese. Little by little, she hopes, the tide of abortion in New York will be slowed, and more women will find the help and support they need to bring their babies into the world.

“Project Gabriel is more than just a pro-life program,” she explained, “it is a way of living out the Gospel of Life, of embracing women and their unborn children at their most vulnerable moments and bringing them the love of Christ.”

About the Gabriel “angels,” she said, “They become friends with the woman who accompany her on this wonderful journey of pregnancy, and continue to be there in the time after as well.”

Litrenta carries a cell phone with her to answer calls to the emergency number any time of the day or night. “We have women call at all hours,” she said. “We discuss the woman’s fears, and find how we can allay those fears. If she needs medical help, we arrange that. If she needs an attorney, we arrange that also. Most of all we give love – the love of God. With His love we can do anything.”

For more information about the Gabriel Project, call Sister Dorothy Guadalupe or Sister Marie Regina, of the Sisters of Life, at the New York Archdiocese Family Life Office, (212) 371-1000, ext. 3182 or e-mail: sr.dorothy.guadalupe@archny.org. For further information on the Gabriel Project please visit www.thegabrielproject.org.

 

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