Annual March for Life in Vienna Draws Over 3,000 Participants, Organizers Say
The annual March for Life was held in the Austrian capital, Vienna, on Saturday, October 10. According to the organizers, more than 3,000 people attended a rally at Karlsplatz under the motto "Austria is for life." After the rally, participants marched through Vienna's city centre to St. Stephen's Square.
Before the rally, Vienna Auxiliary Bishop Stephan Turnovszky celebrated Mass at the Karlskirche at 11 a.m.; according to the Catholic news agency Kathpress, the service took place under heightened security measures. A stage programme at Karlsplatz began at 1:30 p.m.
The organizers stated that the march's aims included protecting unborn life, greater support for pregnant women and families, and opposition to euthanasia. Speakers included Bishop Klaus Küng of St. Pölten, representatives of life-protection organizations and politicians; Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller addressed the gathering in a video message. In his sermon, Turnovszky said the unborn are among the weakest members of society.
One specific theme of the rally was the government's plan to introduce protection zones around abortion facilities, within which certain protest activities could be restricted. In the organizers' statement, march spokeswoman Anna Soldo criticized the plan as a disproportionate interference with the rights to freedom of expression, religion and assembly, and said the existing legal framework already provides protection against harassment or threats.
The organizers described this year's event as peaceful. The next March for Life in Vienna is scheduled, according to the organizers, for October 9, 2027.
Sources: Organizers' release via APA-OTS of October 10, 2026, and same-day reporting by kath.net and CNA Deutsch.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 维也纳卡尔广场的卡尔教堂，游行当日弥撒与集会在此一带举行。摄影：Felix König，CC BY 3.0，来源：Wikimedia Commons
