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Welcoming hundreds of people to the annual Life vigil in St Andrew’s Cathedral, marking the anniversary of the 1967 Abortion Act, the Archbishop singled out students from schools and university whose presence, he said, “bears witness to the dignity and respect you have for all human life”.

Earlier, the large crowd gathered in George Square before processing with lit candles through the centre of Glasgow to the cathedral.

Numbers were larger than recent years, and organisers hope this signals a desire among more people to be active in bringing about changes in society.

This theme was picked up by Archbishop Conti who counselled against becoming discouraged.

“For many of us who have been keeping this vigil over many years, we can become discouraged that we seem no nearer to our goal of achieving a society, a country without abortion. We must resist such thoughts.”

He stressed: “It is clear many young people are passionate about the pro-life cause. They see the great harm that has been done to society and to families through easy abortion.

“They know that many women change their mind about abortion when they realise that the death of a child is not a solution to their situation.”

And he urged: “We must continue to do what the Lord asks of us – to witness to the dignity of all human life and stand alongside people in their need. Who knows what we can achieve by prayer and example.

“The pro-life apostolate has impacted on many hearts and minds, and if everyone who holds what we hold dear came together, then the numbers would be very large indeed.”

Echoing Pope Benedict’s recent call for a united Christian witness on the issue of abortion, Archbishop Conti linked it with the ongoing attempts to redefine marriage – a campaign which has been backed vigorously by the Scottish Youth Parliament.

Meanwhile, at SPUC Scotland’s annual conference in Glasgow, young people were again praised for their dynamism in the face of the culture of death.

Anthony Ozimic, the charity’s communications manager, said: “We are seeing that young people are less likely to be dragged along by the dead weight of their parents’ failed ideas, based on a false idea of sexual freedom.”

He said new forms of media were playing a major part in spreading he pro-life message, stating: “Young people are naturally inquisitive, they are naturally challenging and we can see that in increasing areas of pro-life activism.

“People are simply not willing to accept the common culture that is spread through the mainstream media.

“They are using alternative means, such as the 40 Days for Life Vigil, to reach out to their peers and to people in need, such as women in crisis pregnancy.”