Rick Santorum's presidential bid has won the endorsement of CatholicVote.org.

Santorum finished a close second behind Mitt Romney in Tuesday's Iowa caucuses. The former Pennsylvania senator, who often discusses his Catholic faith, surged in the Iowa polls based largely on his appeal to Evangelical voters, a crucial voting block in Iowa.

The Chicago, Illinois-based Catholic Vote is considered one of the country's largest politically active Catholic organizations.

“Pennsylvania Rick Santorum represents our best hope to rally the nation behind a unified moral and economic vision that Americans are clamoring for in a president,” Catholic Vote President Brian Burch said in a statement.

“Catholic voters are looking for a candidate who can successfully combine the principles of the dignity of life and the dignity of work. Senator Santorum understands better than any other candidate that profound link between the moral, cultural and economic principles foundational to the success of America. We are convinced that Rick Santorum is the candidate best equipped to win not only the political argument, but also the hearts of American voters as he did in Iowa on Tuesday.”

Burch also suggested that the group liked Santorum's opposition to gay marriage.

“With the Supreme Court poised to rule on immigration law, Obamacare, and potentially so-called same-sex marriage this summer, judges and our courts will dominate the debate this fall. On this score, there is no debate over which candidate has led, and can best be trusted to lead the fight over the role of our judiciary and the nomination of qualified judges to the courts that will respect our Constitution.”

(Related: Rick Santorum compares gay marriage to polygamy when challenged by students.)