37th ANNUAL RESPECT LIFE
ESSAY CONTEST
“In the first place, religious freedom, an essential requirement of the dignity of every person, is a cornerstone of the structure of human rights.”
Message Of His Holiness Pope St. John Paul II, For The Celebration Of The World Day Of Peace
READ: Religious Freedom: Condition For Peace (January 1, 1988)
Religious Freedom, an essential requirement of the dignity of every person
2026 Respect Life Essay Contest
The Respect Life Essay Contest is an annual event for students in grades K-12 in the Archdiocese of San Francisco, with grade-appropriate prompts around a specific theme each year (based on catholic social justice teachings, more here).
All students that live and/or attend school in the Archdiocese of San Francisco can participate, including those in Catholic school, public school, and home school. This year will mark 37 years of this essay being held in our Archdiocese.
This contest is a gentle way of raising awareness about different topics that pertain to the dignity of the human person. This year’s contest theme is “Religious Freedom, an essential requirement of the dignity of every person“.
This is a great opportunity for students to show their creativity in writing and drawing. Past themes have included “Our Lady of Guadalupe, patroness of the Americas and the Unborn”, “Open Wide your hearts; Pastoral Letter against Racism”, “Life is a Blessing: The Dignity of Children with Down syndrome”, “Adoption as a concrete way of Love”, “Respecting and Loving Our Elderly”; to name a few.
Please continue to scroll down to find downloadable instructions.
Alternatively, you can find all instructions on this site, including links and videos to be used. We look forward to your participation! If you have any questions, contact [email protected].

2026 Respect Life Essay Contest Guidelines, Prompts and Questions
The videos and other resources are attached below. Entries are due by January 23, 2026. A perfect time to do this is during Respect Life month in October. However, you are welcome to submit your entries at any time between August 1, 2025 and January 23, 2026.
Entries should be mailed to:
Archdiocese of San Francisco
Attn: Respect Life Essay Contest
One Peter Yorke Way
San Francisco, CA 94109
A Special Mass and Awards Ceremony will be held on Sunday April 26, 2026 at the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption. An RSVP form will be available after the winners have been announced and people will be invited to RSVP once we get closer to the event.
Videos, Prompts and Questions
- Students in Grades K-8 are to respond to the directions for the prompt at each grade level.
- There are videos for all the grade levels. Articles are provided starting in grade 5.
- The submissions for K-4 are drawing essays. The submissions for 5th grade-high school are written essays.
- Grades K-4: Please do not provide the students with any pre-made pictures for coloring. You can draw for them an example (s) but let them create the image (s) themselves.
- Grades 5-12: Please have students handwrite the following Academic Integrity AI clause on the information form included with the essay: “I honestly attest that my submitted response is my own original work and that I have not copied the work of anyone else or used AI in the generation of this response.”

Videos and Resources for Kinder through 4th Grade
5th and 6th Grade
Choose one of the three saints summaries on our site to draft a reflection.
Utilize the articles, saint summaries, and videos to write an essay. Please share what stood out for you about how that saint defended religious freedom and protected the dignity of the human person. Write (2-3 paragraphs) – handwritten or typed.
Please have students in middle school handwrite the Academic Integrity AI clause on their information form: “I honestly attest that my submitted response is my own original work and that I have not copied the work of anyone else or used AI in the generation of this response.”
7th and 8thGrade
Choose one of the three saints summaries on our site to draft a reflection.
Utilize the articles, saint summaries and video of the saint you chose as inspiration to write an essay sharing what stood out for you about how that saint defended religious freedom and protected the dignity of the human person. Write (3-4 paragraphs essay) – handwritten or typed.
Please have students in middle school handwrite the Academic Integrity AI clause on their information form: “I honestly attest that my submitted response is my own original work and that I have not copied the work of anyone else or used AI in the generation of this response.”
HIGH SCHOOL
Grades 9 through 12
Please answer the following:
Draft your reflection based on one of the three countries we have chosen (Nicaragua, Nigeria, or China) where religious freedom is violated. Utilize the articles provided for that country as well as the comprehensive religious freedom reports to highlight the importance of religious freedom. Please base it on the two excerpts provided (Dignitatis Humana and the USCCB excerpt for the country you choose.)
Please have students in High School handwrite the following Academic Integrity AI clause on the information form included with the essay: “I honestly attest that my submitted response is my own original work and that I have not copied the work of anyone else or used AI in the generation of this response.“
Second Vatican Council Declaration on Religious Freedom
Dignitatis Humanae Excerpt:
This Vatican Council declares that the human person has a right to religious freedom. This freedom means that all men are to be immune from coercion on the part of individuals or of social groups and of any human power, in such wise that no one is to be forced to act in a manner contrary to his own beliefs, whether privately or publicly, whether alone or in association with others, within due limits.
The council further declares that the right to religious freedom has its foundation in the very dignity of the human person as this dignity is known through the revealed word of God and by reason itself. (2) This right of the human person to religious freedom is to be recognized in the constitutional law whereby society is governed and thus it is to become a civil right.
It is in accordance with their dignity as persons-that is, beings endowed with reason and free will and therefore privileged to bear personal responsibility-that all men should be at once impelled by nature and also bound by a moral obligation to seek the truth, especially religious truth. They are also bound to adhere to the truth, once it is known, and to order their whole lives in accord with the demands of truth. However, men cannot discharge these obligations in a manner in keeping with their own nature unless they enjoy immunity from external coercion as well as psychological freedom.
Therefore, the right to religious freedom has its foundation not in the subjective disposition of the person, but in his very nature. In consequence, the right to this immunity continues to exist even in those who do not live up to their obligation of seeking the truth and adhering to it and the exercise of this right is not to be impeded, provided that just public order be observed.
What Church teaches on religious freedom:
https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/catechism/index.cfm?recnum=5776
USCCB on religious freedom:
https://www.usccb.org/committees/religious-liberty/how-talk-about-religious-freedom


Submission instructions for all students in Grades Kinder through 12
All submissions will be judged on the student’s ability to articulate his or her understanding of the issues, the message of the Catholic Church in relation to those issues, his or her own personal commitment to implementing the Church’s message and creativity.
Please send all entries to: Respect Life Program, Office of Human Life & Dignity
Archdiocese of San Francisco, One Peter Yorke Way, San Francisco, CA 94109
Essays should be postmarked by January 23rd, 2026.
Please do not put the name of the student on the front of the essay. Either attach it to the back of the essay—on the form provided—or print the form provided and staple it to their essay. We need the name of the student, student’s address, telephone number, grade, school, teacher & county.
Please print as legibly as possible so names on awards certificates will be accurate. If the teacher or student would like a copy of the essay, please copy before mailing. Due to the number of essays received, we might not be able to photocopy or return copies of essays.
Please have students in Middle School and High School handwrite the following Academic Integrity AI clause on the information form included with the essay: “I honestly attest that my submitted response is my own original work and that I have not copied the work of anyone else or used AI in the generation of this response.“
A Special Mass and Awards Ceremony will be held on Sunday April 26, 2026. To RSVP, please visit the Archdiocese of San Francisco’s events page closer to the date. Information will be updated on the website as the Mass approaches.
