Remembering a friend: Albertos Polizogopoulos (1982-2024)

At the end of last week, while the March for Life was taking place on Parliament Hill and in many cities across Canada, a dear friend of our community died.

Albertos Polizogopoulos was general counsel to CPL for many years. He gave many of our students, physicians, and the organization overall the benefit of his counsel. He generously gave of his time to attend conferences and seminars and answered the many questions that were raised in these contexts. He was the founding lawyer for our Crisis Line and a catalyst for our Conscience Symposia.

Here is Albertos in a short clip from our CPL Conference 2019.

Albertos was a friend to many in the pro-life movement. He was a man of deep integrity, refreshingly honest in his work. He was impressive both in the courtroom and outside of it. His heart was big, and many of us were blessed with his hospitality at summer barbecues and Christmas parties.

As Jonathon van Maren so aptly put it: 

I thought he was indispensable. Many of us did.

It was one of the privileges of my life to be able to work alongside him in the causes both of us hold dear. I wish I could write more. For the moment, I will end with a line from Yeats: “Think where man’s glory most begins and ends, and say my glory was I had such friends.”

In remembering Albertos this week, I would encourage you to enjoy some Greek food in his honour and to reflect on and advance his virtues of hospitality, friendship, and fighting for justice.

For details about his funeral or to attend via livestream this Tuesday evening, click here.