Priests for Life Chooses Victoria Hearst for Pro-Life Award

Contact: Leslie Palma, Priests for Life, 347-286-7277

WASHINGTON, Jan. 23, 2012 /Christian Newswire/ -- Victoria Hearst, founder of Praise Him Ministries in Colorado, will be the recipient of this year's Pro-Life Recognition Award from Priests for Life and Gospel of Life Ministries.

The award is given annually at the National Memorial for the Pre-Born and Their Fathers and Mothers, a service held in the U.S. Capitol on the morning of the March for Life, Jan. 23. This year's memorial service will begin at 8:30 a.m. in Room HVC 201 of the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center.

"I met Victoria Hearst a little over a year ago, and we marched together at last year's March for Life," said Father Frank Pavone, National Director of Priests for Life and Gospel of Life Ministries. "She is a pro-life warrior who shares our passion for protecting the most defenseless human beings."

Also during the service, the National Pro-Life Religious Council will present Pro-Life Recognition Awards to Chris Slattery, founder and president of EMC Frontline Pregnancy Centers in New York, and Karolyn Schrage, executive director of Life Choices Medical Clinic Resource Center in Joplin, Mo.

Miss Hearst, the granddaughter of renowned newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst, had a promising career as an actress, singer and dancer in the 1990s when a failed romantic relationship ultimately led her to become a committed Christian and put her on a new path. With her inheritance following the death of her father, Randolph Hearst, Miss Hearst bought a 10,000 square foot building in Ridgway, Colo., and founded Praise Him Ministries, which includes Ridgway Christian Center, RCC's Free Youth Center, and Praise Productions Christian Store. Miss Hearst also hosts "Praise Him," a Sunday morning radio show.

She is a volunteer for Good News Jail and Prison Ministry, and chairwoman of the ministry's Western Slope President's Council. Every weekend, she works with Chaplain Bill Potter at Delta Correctional Center for men as choreographer and director of the facility's Chapel of Hope Choir.

Miss Hearst sits on the board of directors of Billye Brim Ministry/Prayer Mountain of the Ozarks in Missouri, and the advisory board of Voice of Refugees ministry in California. She is a devoted friend of Israel, and supports many causes there.

"The Hearst name is beyond famous, and is quickly associated in the public's mind to newspapers and the infamous kidnapping of Patricia Hearst, Victoria's sister, in the 1970s," Father Pavone said. "Victoria's work will ensure the Hearst name is also associated with a Christ-centered commitment to the least of our brothers and sisters, the unborn."

Father Pavone will deliver the keynote address at the National Memorial for the Pre-Born, and Kelly Clinger, a recording artist and spokeswoman for the Silent No More Awareness Campaign, will perform.

The Capitol Visitor Center, the new main entrance to the U.S. Capitol, is located beneath the East Front plaza of the U.S. Capitol at First Street and East Capitol Street.

Priests for Life is the nation's largest Catholic pro-life organization dedicated to ending abortion and euthanasia. For more information, visit www.priestsforlife.org.

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