PROVIDENCE — More than one hundred pro-life advocates joined the ninth annual diocesan bus trip to the March for Life held Jan. 23 in Washington, D.C. to remind lawmakers about the sanctity of human life at all stages.
After traveling all night, the group joined 10,000 faith-filled human life advocates at the Washington Armory for a youth rally and Mass, celebrated by Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo, Archbishop of Galveston-Houston, Texas and concelebrated by bishops and priests from across the nation. Another rally was held at the Verizon Center, where an estimated 20,000 worshippers attended Mass celebrated by Washington Archbishop Donald Wuerl.
The participants then converged on the Washington Mall where they were encouraged by pro-life elected officials to advocate for human life at every stage, and then marched up Capitol Hill, where many visited the offices of Rhode Island’s congressional delegation.
“Personally for me, I was very encouraged by this huge gathering of young people gathered together to celebrate the sanctity of human life, singing and praising the Lord with beautiful music led by Bob Rice,” said Father Juniper Sistare, assistant pastor of St. Philip Church, Greenville, who added that he was inspired by the number of who received the sacrament of reconciliation before Mass.
Father Sistare described the rally and march as “a beautiful witness to life.” It was the 16th time that he attended the annual January event, that this year marked the 38th anniversary of Roe v. Wade.
“Each year the number of young people attending is getting bigger and bigger,” Father Sistare observed. “This fills me with great hope that eventually the present culture of death we live in will be turned into a civilization of life for all – born and unborn.”
Vanesa Zuleta, 17, a parishioner of St. John the Baptist Church, traveled to Washington traveled to Washington with the 18-member parish group, and her mother Margarita, who served as one of the chaperones.
“You know that in this fight to protect life you are not alone,” she emphasized. “It really makes you realize that the Catholic Church and the youth of the church are alive and ready to have their voices heard.”
Hannah Grant-Lusignan, a member of Sts. John and James Parish, West Warwick, brought her son Neil, a sophomore at Bishop Hendricken High School, Warwick, and her daughter, Amelia, age 11, to the march to illustrate the need support pro-life activities.
“It was an absolutely beautiful witness to life,” she said, noting that the number of youth present at the march gave her the impression that they will be generation to affect change.
“They know what the fight is about,” Grant-Lusignan emphasized. “They have been edu cated about what this fight for life is all about.”
Also attending the March for Life were Father Albert Kenney, chancellor of the diocese and rector of Our Lady of Providence Seminary, Father Timothy Reilly, vicar general, and Father Michael Najim, vocation director, who accompanied a group of seminarians to the Washington event.
“It has become a true pilgrimage for our seminary community as we join so many other faithful Catholics in prayer and in support of life at all stages,” Father Kenney said.
He added that one of the highlights of the pilgrimage is the Mass celebrated on the eve of the rally at the Basilica of the National Shrine.
“At this Mass, as we pray for the unborn, our seminarians join with hundreds of other men studying for the priesthood in a visible witness to the church and to the role of the priest in proclaiming the Gospel of Life.”
Father Kenney added that Cardinal DiNardo’s homily inspired all present to “build up the Body of Christ by witnessing to the truth and the beauty of God’s holy creation in all forms.”
Like Father Sistare, the seminary rector was also encouraged by the number of youth who attended the March for Life.
“Indeed the pro-life movement is full of young and committed disciples who are eager to provide a voice for the voiceless,” Father Kenney said.
Seminarian Matthew Gebhart said that the pilgrimage was an “edifying experience.”
The Rhode Island contingent was led by Carol Owens, diocesan Respect Life coordinator, and included members of the Knights of Columbus, students from several local Catholic high schools, parish youth groups and pro-life advocates from many parts of the state. Msgr. Gerard Sabourin, pastor of Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha Church, Exeter, also traveled with the group.
