Pope Francis urged citizens to consider having more children at this year's annual meeting sponsored by the Foundation for Natality and the Italian Forum of Family Associations, which focused on the declining birth rate in Italy.

The two-day conference on the general state of the birth rate took place last week, according to a release by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). 

“Each of our mothers are each a sign of hope,” San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone said on Twitter after the sessions, posting a link to the Catholic News Agency’s event coverage. 

Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni joined Pope Francis at the conference on the second day to discuss Italy's concerning birth rate decline. In the previous year, only 393,000 births were recorded in Italy, marking an all-time low. Italy's fertility rate, which stands at 1.24 live births per woman, is among the lowest in Europe. As a concerning contrast, the mortality rate has increased, according to the Italian National Institute of Statistics, as cited by the USCCB.

Meloni called on the nation to give motherhood and fatherhood their dues, saying it's time for people to realize that “being a father isn't uncool, but is a socially recognized value.”

Several studies have identified factors behind Italy's declining birth rate, including financial challenges and the increased burden of caring for elderly parents. Yahoo News reported that Meloni is supporting a plan discussed last year to boost the country's birth rate to 500,000 per year within a decade.

“The birth of children, in fact, is the main indicator for measuring the hope of a people,” Pope Francis said during the conference, according to the National Catholic Register. “If few are born it means there is little hope. And this not only has repercussions from an economic and social point of view, but also undermines confidence in the future.”