Students from 10 diocesan high schools and one parish school along with young people and adults from other church groups traveled to Washington, D.C., for the 52nd annual National March for Life on Jan. 23-25.
Bishop Earl Fernandes celebrated Mass on Thursday, Jan. 23 at the St. John Paul II National Shrine in Washington for the diocesan pilgrims that included diocesan schools making the trip and another Mass the morning after the March for Life on Saturday, Jan. 25 at the Cathedral of St. Matthew attended by students from Portsmouth Notre Dame, Zanesville Bishop Rosecrans and Columbus St. Charles Preparatory School.
Other student groups who traveled to Washington were from Columbus Bishop Hartley, Columbus Bishop Watterson, Columbus Bishop Ready, Columbus St. Francis DeSales and Columbus Cristo Rey, Lancaster Fisher Catholic and Newark Catholic high schools and from Worthington St. Michael School.
Young people from Dublin St. Brigid of Kildare and Pickerington St. Elizabeth Ann Seton parishes and a large group originating from Columbus St. Patrick Church also were in Washington to attend the March for Life and other activities.
Jake Asuncion, who accompanied 25 St. Michael eighth-graders, attended the March for Life for the 10th time and said “there’s always something new every year.”
“But there’s one thing that always strikes me is just the age difference,” he said. “A lot of young people — middle schoolers, college students, high school students all experiencing joy while celebrating something that’s way beyond them.”
St. Charles student Joey Lillis was struck by the tens of thousands of people at the March from all over the country.
“The movement actually has momentum,” he said.
Shane Gerrity joined his fellow diocesan seminarians at the March and said “we always like to come out and support life.”
“I think at this point, as we’ve kind of moved toward the states’ issue for abortion rights, it’s more about promoting a culture of life and celebrating the overturning of Roe v Wade,” he said. “And there’s also just the understanding of like the continued care and support for the mother and child all the way through.”
He said what’s striking about the March for Life is the “joy.”
“There’s a very good culture,” he said. “Everybody’s young, but everybody’s happy. There’s very little anger or politicization this year. It’s just very much people who understand the sanctity of life and the dignity of the person.
“It’s always been about overturning Roe vs. Wade and trying to get rid of abortion. And while that’s still obviously why we’re marching, it’s becoming a celebration of the overturning of Roe v Wade and the Dobbs decision.”
Mason Tarr traveled the March for Life in Washington for the first time with a group of 13 students and chaperones from Portsmouth.
“A lot of kids in my school do not agree with this at all and (I came) to show my support (for life),” he said. “This is something that I’ve never seen before and I’m glad to experience it.”
In addition to the March for Life and the Masses on Thursday and Saturday, some students and groups went to the Closing Mass of the National Prayer Vigil for Life on Friday morning at the National Shrine of the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Washington with Bishop Robert Brennan, formerly the bishop of Columbus, as the principal celebrant and homilist.
Other students and individuals joined the LifeFest Night of Praise on Thursday evening and the Friday morning rally and Mass at EagleBank Arena in Fairfax, Virginia, before the March for Life in the afternoon.
