A Quiet Saint Takes On A Loud Culture

Most people think of Saint Joseph as silent background in the Nativity, but I keep coming back to one urgent question: what does his quiet courage look like when unborn babies with Down syndrome are being targeted for abortion? I’m Lori, and this first chapter of Saint Joseph, Protector of the Unborn is both personal and prayerful, rooted in my sister Stacy’s life and the ache of knowing how many children who look like her never get the chance to be born.

I share how my devotion to Saint Joseph deepened after Stacy’s death, shaped by Father Mike Schmitz’s Bible in a Year community and Father Donald Calloway’s consecration to Saint Joseph. We pray together, and we reflect on Saint Joseph’s role as foster father and legal father of Jesus, a man entrusted with protecting a child the world did not understand. That’s why I talk about Saint Joseph as patron of the unborn, especially for babies diagnosed with Trisomy 21 and labeled as disposable.

We also start tracing the road that led from genetics to eugenics through the story of Dr. Jérôme Lejeune, the French Catholic doctor who first published findings about the extra chromosome 21. His work affirmed that people with Down syndrome have something extra, not something less, yet he later watched that knowledge become a tool for elimination. To ground all of this in real life, I share a joyful story from Stacy’s adulthood: her journey to Confirmation and the way her faith lit up an entire parish.

If you care about Down syndrome awareness, Catholic pro-life witness, prenatal diagnosis ethics, and the power of prayer, subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave a review so more people can find this conversation. What part of the story stays with you most?

Credits: Francois Lespes, Jerome Lejeune, to the least of these my brothers and sisters (Ignatius Press, 2026)

Transcript

Welcome And Mission

Speaker 0:00

Hello and welcome to the first episode of Saint Joseph, Protector of the Unborn. This podcast is dedicated to honoring and to venerating Saint Joseph and to seeking his protection for the lives of unborn babies diagnosed with Down syndrome and in danger of being aborted. The sad reality being that most unborn babies with Down syndrome are in danger of being aborted. I'm your host, Lori. But with regard to this podcast, I tend to think of myself as being Stacy's sister. Stacy was my baby's sister, and she had Down syndrome. She was born when I was six and passed away when I was sixty-six. Stacy owned my heart for the entire sixty years of her life, and she still does, although I still have enough heart left to be broken when I think about the thousands of babies who look like my Stacy and are aborted each year. These are babies especially in need of Saint Joseph's protection. Although I've been a devout Catholic pretty much since birth, my profound devotion to Saint Joseph didn't commence until after Stacy's passing. At that point, I realized that I needed to be more intentional in my faith. I joined Father Mike Schmitz's Bible in a year community and learned about Father Donald Calloway and his consecration to Saint Joseph videos. Being consecrated to Saint Joseph made me more aware of his power and love. I'm extremely grateful to Father Mike and to Father Calloway for guiding me toward Saint Joseph.

Devotion And Opening Prayer

Speaker 1:36

I plan to start this episode and every future episode with a prayer in honor of Saint Joseph. O Saint Joseph, whose protection is so great, so strong, so prompt before the throne of God, I place in you all my interest and desires, O Saint Joseph, to assist me by your powerful intercession and obtain from me, from your divine Son, all spiritual blessings through Jesus Christ, our Lord, so that having engaged here below your heavenly power, I may offer my thanksgiving and homage to the most loving of fathers, O Saint Joseph. I never worry contemplating you, and Jesus asleep in your arms. I dare not approach while he reposes near your heart. Press him in my name and kiss his fine head for me, and ask him to return the kiss when I draw my dying breath. Saint Joseph, patron of departing souls, pray for me. Amen. As I said earlier, I've become devoted to Saint Joseph since I lost Stacy. Father Calloway's beautiful consecration to Saint Joseph opened my heart and my mind to the quiet strength and power of Saint Joseph. I now consecrate myself to Saint Joseph daily and pray the Rosary in his honor. Saint

Saint Joseph As Patron Of Unborn

Speaker 2:55

Joseph has many roles and many titles. The Litany of Saint Joseph enumerates many of those titles, but today I will be talking about a title not included in the Litany of Saint Joseph, patron of the unborn. Saint Joseph earned this title by humbly and gracefully embracing his role as foster father, legal father of Jesus. To be truthful, discussions regarding Saint Joseph can be difficult because he was a quiet, humble man. And, in fact, there is only one word, one name that we know for certain was uttered by Saint Joseph. That word, that name, is Jesus. As the foster father of Jesus, Joseph was responsible for naming his son, and his apostolic exhortation, Redemptoris Custos, which means guardian of the Redeemer, Saint Pope John Paul II quotes the Gospel of Matthew. An angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary, your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. Any other words uttered by Saint Joseph remain unknown, as are most of the details of his life. For many centuries, Saint Joseph's role as foster father of the Son of God was often ignored or minimized by the world. I've recently noticed that even when Saint Joseph is included in paintings of the Nativity or the Holy Family, he is frequently hidden in the shadows. Since there is so little information available regarding Saint Joseph's life, each episode will only be providing small nuggets, as Father Mike would say, about his life. Our focus will be on honoring and venerating Saint Joseph, and in seeking his loving help to save the lives of babies with Down syndrome. So now let's say the prayer to Saint Joseph by Saint Francis de Sales and ask for Saint Joseph's help in saving the lives of these babies. Glorious Saint Joseph, spouse of Mary, grant us, we beseech thee, thy paternal protection through the heart of Jesus Christ. O thou whose infinite power reaches out to all our needs, rendering possible for us that which is impossible. Look upon the concerns of thy children with fatherly countenance in the troubles and sorrows that afflict us. We have confident recourse to thee. Deign to take under thy loving protection this important and difficult endeavor, the cause of our worries, and dispose its success to the glory of God and to the benefit of his faithful servants. Amen.

Global Crisis And Eugenics Roots

Speaker 5:44

It's well known that the shortest verse in the Bible is Jesus wept. While we may not know the specific details of Saint Joseph's life, I can't help thinking that if it were possible to weep in heaven, Saint Joseph is weeping when he watches the abortion of thousands of babies with Down syndrome. Tragically, this isn't a United States crisis or a North American problem. This is an international catastrophe. And in future episodes, we will explore how different nations treat unborn babies who have been diagnosed with Down syndrome, and how some countries have almost completely eliminated their Down syndrome population. We will also talk about two bioethicists who do not view birth as a barrier to the abortion of disabled babies.

Jerome Lejeune And Trisomy 21

Speaker 6:32

But today we'll start to explore how this horrible road to eugenics began and the way it impacted on the life of a faithful French Catholic doctor, Jerome Lejeune. A man who originally aspired to be a simple country doctor. Instead, he was treating children with Down syndrome, and he grew to love these children and sought to improve their lives. Part of the effort to improve their lives included the discovery that people with Down syndrome had all or a part of a third chromosome 21, which is why Down syndrome is also known as Trisomy 21. While similar research was being conducted by other doctors, Dr. Lejeune was, in 1959, the first to publish his results. To him, the research proved that people with Down syndrome had something extra, not something less. I can only imagine his eventual heartbreak and horror when he realized that his discovery was going to be used to target and to eliminate unborn babies with Down syndrome. But before that moment of realization, he was a highly sought-after genetics expert in the 1960s. In fact, in 1969, he received the William Allen Memorial Award, the top prize given by the American Society of Human Genetics, but he did not revel in the glory of this honor. Instead, soon after receiving this award, he gave a speech in front of a United Nations Conference on Health. This speech was to completely change his life and his career. According to his biographer, Aude Dugast, in this speech, Dr. Lejeune questioned the morality of abortion. Dugast says, taking the logics of eugenics to its conclusion, he then proposed that the National Institute for Health be replaced by a National Institute of Death, the name that would more accurately describe its activity. After the negative response that speech received, Dr. Lejeune wrote a letter to his wife stating that today I lost my Nobel Prize in Medicine. I do want to credit the documentary, Venerable Jerome Lejeune to the least of these, my brothers and sisters, with providing much of the information regarding Dr. Lejeune. In the next episode, we will delve further into the aftermath of Dr. Lejeune's speech and his rejection by the scientific community and the surprising direction

Losing A Nobel For Truth

Speaker 9:00

his life took. For now, let's pray the memorare of Saint Joseph. Remember, O most chaste spouse of the Virgin Mary, that never was it known, that anyone who implored your help and sought your intercession were left unassisted. Full of confidence in your power, I fly unto you and beg your protection. Despise not, O guardian of the Redeemer, my humble supplication, but in your bounty hear and answer me. Amen. We're going in a slightly different direction now. Since so many proponents of abortion for babies diagnosed with Down syndrome claim they are trying to save these individuals from a life of misery, let's explore the reality of living with Down syndrome. And of course, I can use Stacy as an example. In every episode, I will be sharing the details of one of Stacy's experiences or adventures. Today we'll be talking about one of Stacy's spiritual journeys. Her journey to confirmation. When she was in her forties, Stacy was given the opportunity to be confirmed, and she loved it. She had private lessons each week with a religious educator who became a good friend to our family. And every Sunday, she and I served as greeters and handed out the missals to be used during Mass. We were also frequently asked to bring the communion

Stacy’s Confirmation Journey

Speaker 10:21

gifts to the altar. She would proudly carry up the wine. She reveled in sharing her love for God. The culmination was, of course, her confirmation on Easter weekend. But for her, every Sunday in Lent was also a time for her to shine. During each Mass in Lent, the candidates for confirmation were called to the altar. Stacy was always the only candidate at our mass, and her grin was huge as she made her way to the altar, which wasn't a long walk since she always claimed the front pew in church. The congregation would applaud while she happily soaked up the attention and gave her public a royal wave. As you can imagine, every church member adored her and was awed by the love of God that flowed out of her. As I said earlier, today's story was about one of her spiritual journeys, and Stacy was a faithful Catholic, but she also loved to have fun. The next episode will feature details of her interaction with Kenny Rogers.

Gratitude And Closing Litany

Speaker 11:19

Before we end this episode with the litany of Saint Joseph, I would like to thank you all for embarking on this journey with me. My hope and intention is to publish two episodes a month. I would be very grateful if you would continue to join me in venerating and in honoring Saint Joseph and in praying for the lives of unborn babies with Down syndrome and all unborn babies in danger of abortion. And I would like to thank Father Mike Schmitz and Father Donald Calloway for their ongoing inspiration. Now, let's recite the litany of Saint Joseph. Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, have mercy on us. Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, hear us. Christ, graciously hear us. God, the Father of Heaven, have mercy on us. God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us. God, the Holy Spirit, have mercy on us. Holy Trinity, one God, have mercy on us. Holy Mary, pray for us. Saint Joseph, pray for us. Renowned offspring of David, pray for us. Light of patriarchs, pray for us. Spouse of the Mother of God, pray for us. Chaste, guardian of the Virgin, pray for us. Foster Father of the Son of God, pray for us. Diligent protector of Christ, pray for us. Head of the Holy Family, pray for us. Joseph, most just, pray for us. Joseph, most chaste, pray for us. Joseph, most prudent, pray for us. Joseph, most strong, pray for us. Joseph, most obedient, pray for us. Joseph, most faithful, pray for us. Mirror of patience, pray for us. Lover of poverty, pray for us. Model of artisans, pray for us. Glory of home life, pray for us. Guardian of virgins, pray for us. Pillar of families, pray for us. Solace of the wretched, pray for us. Hope of the sick, pray for us. Patron of the dying, pray for us. Terror of demons, pray for us. Protector of holy church, pray for us. Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, spare us, O Lord. Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, graciously hear us, O Lord. Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us. He has made him Lord of his house and ruler of all his substance. Let us pray. O God, who, in thine unspeakable providence, didst vouchsafe to choose, blessed Joseph, to be the spouse of thine own most holy mother. Grant, we beseech thee, that we may deserve to have him for our intercessor in heaven, whom we reverence as our defender on earth, you who livest and reignest, world without end. Amen. Thank you for listening, and I pray you have a hopeful and blessed day. So long from Stacy's Sister.