The rally was the largest pro-life march in Latin American history

750,000 people rallied at the March for Life in Lima, Peru, on Saturday - making it the largest pro-life march in Latin American history.

According to news site Aciprensa, fully three-quarters of a million people flooded the streets of Lima, Peru’s capital city, for the annual March for Life. The spirit in the crowd was joyful as people marched and sang songs to celebrate life from the moment of conception to natural death.

The enormous crowd of joyful pro-lifers was even larger than 2015’s record-breaking turnout, which news outlets estimated at approximately 500,000.

Pro-life celebration

The numbers are even more impressive given that the total population of Peru is just 30 million - less than half as many people are in the UK.

The event was largely a celebration for pro-lifers in the South American nation, where unborn children are protected by law from the moment of conception and abortion remains illegal. Despite mounting pressure from international pro-abortion lobbying groups, the Peruvian parliament rejected a bill in November that would have legalised abortion in limited circumstances.

Many politicians and political candidates were also at the march in person and assured the vast crowds of their commitment to protecting unborn children from abortion.

Courage and hope

The Catholic Archbishop of Lima, Cardinal Juan Luis Cipriani, spoke to the crowd about extending forgiveness to women who have had abortions, and prayed for God to protect the family.

"But we cannot say that abortion is a right. Abortion is not a right, it is murder!" he emphasised.

The cardinal added that he finds courage and hope in seeing large groups of young people at the march and encouraged the young pro-lifers to keep working for the cause.

Reports state that the crowd was diverse, including families with young children, people with disabilities, pro-lifers young and old, and both Catholics and Protestants well represented.

The UK will be holding its own March for Life in May - click here to learn more!