A discreet gesture from various religious communities is opening breaches where least expected: in the hearts of those who work in abortion centers. Nuns from different states in the United States have begun sending handwritten Christmas cards, accompanied by prayer, with a message as simple as it is radical: “There is a way out. We are praying for you”.
The campaign emerged in 2022 through Abby Johnson, former director of Planned Parenthood who, after her conversion, founded the organization And Then There Were None (ATTWN) to help abortion industry employees leave that environment and rebuild their lives. Two years later, the initiative has taken hold strongly among contemplative and active religious women, who see in each card an opportunity to offer consolation and hope.
An Advent tradition born in a convent without internet
According to Life Site, among the most involved communities are the Capuchin Sisters of Pennsylvania. Their convent, without access to electronic communication, learned about the project through a letter sent by ATTWN. Sister Christina Nazareth recalls that, upon reading the proposal, they immediately understood it as a natural extension of their vocation: to pray, accompany, and spiritually support those living in extreme situations.
Every year, at the start of Advent, the nuns gather to write personalized messages on Christmas cards. It is not a mechanical procedure. Each word is accompanied by prayer and, before sending them, all the cards are placed on the altar, before the Blessed Sacrament. There the nuns ask that Jesus Christ touch the hearts of those who receive the envelope and that each message reach “the hands that need it most”.
The chosen iconography is not casual: all the cards show a scene of the Holy Family, reminding of the dignity of all human life and the hope brought by the Birth of Christ.
An unexpected door to conversion
The campaign does not remain on the symbolic plane. There are already testimonies that show its effectiveness. Patty Knap, counselor for pregnancy support and author of the original report, recounts the case of a former employee of an abortion center who received one of these cards. The handwritten message said: “Are you looking for a way out? We can help you leave the abortion industry. Call this number”.
The woman, surprised, consulted a colleague if it should be taken seriously. They told her to ignore it. However, according to her own testimony, something—which she identifies without doubt as the Holy Spirit—led her to keep the message in her purse and take it home. That same night she called the number.
From there, ATTWN accompanied her in a process that included help to find employment, contact with other women who had taken the same step, and access to emotional and spiritual healing programs. A simple envelope, written by nuns she will never know, opened a door that her conscience had been seeking for some time.
Thousands of cards a year for the “forgotten” of abortion
Johnson’s organization ensures sending more than 22,000 cards and postcards annually to abortion centers across the country. It is not about pressure or denunciation, but compassion: reminding those who work in this industry that they are not condemned to remain in it and that there are people praying for their liberation.
As explained by ATTWN’s communications director, Karen Herzog, many abortion clinic employees retain some kind of faith, sometimes weakened or in conflict with the work they perform. The cards, she says, “plant a seed” that can germinate when least expected.
Converts who changed the history of the pro-life movement
The initiative recalls the transformative power of many conversion stories. Abby Johnson is not the only one. The renowned doctor Bernard Nathanson—responsible for 75,000 abortions—ended up converting into one of the most forceful voices against the industry he himself helped build. Doctor Anthony Levatino went from practicing abortions to publicly explaining their brutality. Even Norma McCorvey, the woman whose case opened the door to the Roe vs. Wade ruling, dedicated the last years of her life to the defense of life.
The gesture of these nuns fits into that same tradition: small actions capable of provoking great changes. They do not seek headlines or recognition. Their mission is simpler: to pray for those who live within an industry that, in many cases, leaves deep wounds, and to offer them—with a card, a prayer, and a handwritten address—the real possibility of starting anew.