CHARLOTTE — More than 1,500 pro-life supporters gathered at the Charlotte Convention Center Oct. 25 to celebrate the work of MiraVia and recommit to defending the unborn.
MiraVia, a haven and source of hope for pregnant college women, celebrated its 31st annual banquet with a hopeful message.
“Charlotte is blessed with a world-class pro-life community,” said Executive Director Debbie Capen. “We are so grateful for your generosity of time, talent and treasure in supporting moms and babies.”
The annual banquet helps raise hundreds of thousands of dollars to support the lifesaving work of the Catholic non-profit organization. Since it was founded in 1994, MiraVia has helped more than 14,000 mothers through its Outreach Center in Charlotte and a 15-suite residence for pregnant college students on the campus of Belmont Abbey College.
MiraVia plans to double in both size and reach by 2030, “one life and family at a time,” Capen told the enthusiastic crowd.
“MiraVia calls us to the importance of fostering life,” said Bishop Michael Martin, who opened the event with a blessing. “When the world says there is no way, there is a way.”
Keynote speaker Lila Rose, the founder of Live Action, a Catholic-based organization that advocates for the pro-life cause through online advocacy and media, shared some good news at the event.
“We can win this,” she said. “It is going to happen, but we have to ask for it. … There is a movement right now by the Holy Spirit of conversion.”
She cited recent federal legislation that temporarily prohibits federal Medicaid funding to abortion providers, including Planned Parenthood, the nation’s leading abortion provider. And abortion facilities around the United States continue to close following the reversal of Roe v. Wade in 2022.
Yet the work to change people’s hearts about abortion must continue, she said.
Rose said she would like to see a MiraVia on every college campus. The need is there, the culture is shifting, and people are coming to God, she said.
Rose urged the crowd to always “speak the truth and never compromise on it with love and humility,” “give generously” and pray – “ask the Blessed Mother for intercession.”
Supporters heard about MiraVia’s ongoing impact, including the testimony of Kathleen and Caleb Fleeman.
Through tears of happiness and love, the couple called MiraVia “a lighthouse in rough seas.” They described how Kathleen, then a Belmont Abbey College student, went from being a MiraVia volunteer to a resident after discovering she was pregnant.
When the news came, she was scared, but she knew where to turn: MiraVia. She explained the seamless transition into the residential home on campus. Volunteers and staff encouraged her to continue her path of higher education as they supported her with meals, baby supplies, a private suite and a support system enabling her and her son to thrive. Caleb, also a student at
Belmont Abbet at the time, felt encouraged to visit MiraVia and fulfill his role as father, spending time with their young son and courting the love of his life and now mother of his child. Kathleen and Caleb both graduated college and married. They are now expecting their second child, a girl.
— Lisa M. Geraci
How to help
At www.miravia.org: Learn more about MiraVia and how you can support their work to help expectant mothers in need
