Vicki Thorn, a Catholic pro-life pioneer, international speaker, author, and a member of the Pontifical Academy of Life, died on Wednesday, April 20 at the age of 72.
From her own experience of being there for her pregnant teen friend, she found Project Rachel. The project is a ground-breaking post-abortion healing ministry that started in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee and has since spread to dioceses across the U.S. and around the world.
Her unexpected death has shocked and saddened the pro-life community and generated a flood of tributes on social media.
Kristan Hawkins, president of the pro-life group Students for Life, tweeted on Wednesday that she changed the pro-life movement for the better.
Thorn is survived by her husband, William Thorn, associate professor emeritus of journalism and media studies at Marquette University, and their six children and 17 grandchildren.
A certified trauma counselor and spiritual director, she earned a degree in psychology from the University of Minnesota, Thorn launched Project Rachel in the archdiocese in 1984. The ministry was unique because it was staffed by a team of specially trained priests, spiritual directors, and other caregivers.
The response was immediate —and it wasn’t only women who sought help. From the onset it was apparent that boyfriends, husbands, siblings, fathers, grandfathers, and other male family members were struggling, too. As Thorn would later explain, “There were so many people who knew somebody who was wounded that it spread like wildfire.”
Vicki Thorn will always be remembered as a "fierce advocate" for the unborn and those suffering in the aftermath of an abortion.
-CNA