Contact: Laraine Bennett, 703-224-0990, lbennett@nccw.org

WASHINGTON, Jan. 22, 2018 /Christian Newswire/ -- The Executive Committee of the National Council of Catholic Women, along with board members from nearly forty provinces around the country convened in Washington, D.C. for the annual NCCW Board of Directors meeting. They discussed new national initiatives such as NCCW's collaboration with the US Catholic Sisters Against Human Trafficking to provide mentoring and other support for victims of human trafficking, a new Education Committee initiative to share Pope Francis' Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium with Councils of Catholic women across the country and the creation of new Councils of Catholic women for young women from high school age to young adult. The Board also unveiled their new program linking school students in the US with their counterparts in the Holy Land.

Board members attended the Pro-Life Leadership Mass on Thursday, January 18th at the Franciscan Monastery in Washington, D.C., and the National Prayer Vigil for Life at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.

NCCW President Maribeth Stewart said, "It is always so wonderful for our Board to gather as it highlights the dedication to and work for our Mission of spirituality, leadership and service for all Catholic women. We were excited to explore our new initiatives and to mark the progress of all our programs."

NCCW members then continued the long-standing tradition of participating in the annual March for Life in Washington, D.C. This year NCCW joined hundreds of thousands of marchers on January 19th where the mood was hopeful as attendees were addressed by President Trump in a live feed video, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan and many other influential pro-life leaders.

Photos on file. For more information or to schedule an interview with Maribeth Stewart, please contact Laraine Bennett at lbennett@nccw.org. Please visit nccw.org.