Human Life International opened its Tenth Annual World Conference on Love, Life and the Family, with an evening Mass celebrated at the inspiring Our Lady Of Peace Shrine in Santa Clara, California, 3 April 1991. The Mass culminated with a very spiritual, candle lit, Rosary procession around Our Lady's Shrine, with world leaders and delegates walking together, praying to Our Lady and Our Lord Jesus, while holding a candle of light in the night. What a beautiful message to send to Heaven, one of utter devotion, especially on HLI's Tenth Anniversary!

This year, HLI had two opening Masses, one in English and one in Spanish, which opened HLI's 2nd U.S. Hispanic Congress on April 4th. It was concelebrated by Monsignor Pierre Dumaine, Bishop of San Jose, and Monsignor Jose Alamilla Arteaga, Auxiliary Bishop of Mexico City, along with 14 priests from the U.S., Latin America and Spain.

The Hispanic Congress organized by Magaly Llaguno, who heads HLI's Miami Office --Vida Humana Internacional, was attended by national leaders and delegates from 17 Hispanic countries, including Spain and Portugal, and most leaders came at a great personal sacrifice. The financial crisis of most Latin American countries, in combination with an all out attack on human life launched by well organized and financed pro-abortion groups, makes this a crucial time for these pro-life leaders.

The launching of a World Council for Life and Family was one of the main objectives achieved at the congress, which hosted the first official meeting of national leaders from both hemispheres to network, share strategies and resources, and join forces! For the past five years, Latin American leaders have been meeting at each HLI congress, and have successfully formed a union and cooperation between the Hispanic nations. Now they have joined with their brothers and sisters fighting for life and family in the other hemisphere.

Participants were honored with the presence of a special representative from the Vatican, Monsignor Francisco Gil Hellin, Undersecretary to Cardenal Alfonso Lopez Trujillo, who heads the Pontifical Council for the Family. Monsignor Hellin brought a beautiful letter to participants from Cardenal Trujillo urging them to continue to labor at protecting the lives of the weak and innocent, along with his own personal letter of salutation. Participants of this year's congress signed a declaration of devotion, addressed to our Holy Father in Rome, which was personally delivered by Father Marx and Father Habiger, during their recent visit to the Vatican.

The Holy Father sent Bishop Dumaine a special letter of salutation, (in Spanish) addressed to HLI congress participants, encouraging them "to renew commitment to the great task of guaranteeing the right to life and protecting the human person, especially the weak and defenseless, from conception to natural death". This letter was read by the Bishop during the Opening Mass of HLI''s Hispanic Congress.

At the same time that HLI's almost 2,000 conference participants gathered in Santa Clara, the Church's Cardinals also gathered in a consistory, in Rome, to discuss among other important issues, the threat against human life today, specifically abortion. A pastoral letter is expected soon from the bishops on this topic.

Mexico City's Auxiliary Bishop, Monsignor Genaro Alamilla Arteaga, spokesman for that country's Catholic Conference, celebrated daily Mass for Hispanics attending Vida Humana Internacional's congress, along with a number of priests. Monsignor Alamilla also gave a magnificent talk about Catholic morality and the history of the Catholic Church's teaching against abortion and in defense of human life.