Saturday, January 22 (the actual date of the anniversary of Roe vs. Wade) we all met at the Newman Center by 5:30am for a 6am departure. Thanks to the generosity of our community members we were able to rent vehicles for the trip and by the time we made it to the bridge crossing into Illinois many of the students were already asleep - although I hear one van was so eager to make it to D.C. that they were awake the whole drive. Saturday was basically low-key; just driving and driving and driving some more 'til we made it to Virginia. Leaving at 6am central time and arriving at 10pm eastern time, we pulled into the parking lot of St. Leo the Great Parish in Fairfax, VA to be greeted by the awesome pastor, Fr. Whitestone and the parish's amazing respect life coordinator Marisol. We are so blessed for the gracious hospitality St. Leo's showed us! Thank you all so much!
The next morning we rose to attend the 7:30am Mass at St. Leo's followed by a quick breakfast before making our way to the metro where we headed to Arlington National Cemetery. There we witnessed the changing of the guard at the tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The engraving on the tomb I always find to be a profound statement especially when viewed during the March for Life weekend. The reality that this person is 'known but to God' is a reminder that when a child in the womb is lost, those of us here who remain will not have the opportunity to get to know him or her - they are now known but to God.
After a somber morning of praying for all those put to rest at Arlington, we went to visit some museums followed by a tour at the Franciscan Monastery. I find this to be one of the hidden gems of the D.C. area - there is so much going on in D.C. but when you step onto the grounds of the Monastery you find a peaceful place in the midst of all the busyness. The Monastery is a beautiful place to pray and reflect on the reason for our trip. You are reminded of the love and mercy of God in this sacred place. On touring the crypt of the Monastery you are reminded of the passion and love of the martyrs including St. Benignus, St. Sebastian, and St. Cecilia. Also in the crypt are the remains of St. Innocent, a small child who lived his life for Christ and went to be with him at such a young age, again a powerful reminder of our purpose in being in Washington. Of course, the presence of the Blessed Mother was strongly felt as well as an example of her heroic humility in bearing the Lord. St. Joseph, also, was referred to often as a strong and committed foster father of Jesus. To end the day, we arrived back at St. Leo's for a wonderful pizza dinner provided by our new friends. The next day we were to have an early rising so off to sleep we went as soon as possible.
After rising at 4:30am we enjoyed a quick breakfast provided by the dear parishioners of St. Leo's. Then we attended Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. I have to say that this is probably my favorite Basilica in the U.S. It so so beautiful and has a lot of fond memories for me so I always enjoy being there. The 7:30am Mass for Life was celebrated by Bishop William Lori of the Diocese of Bridgeport, CT and the Basilica was full as usual. Masses were being celebrated throughout the region all morning including a youth rally and Mass at the Verizon Center and the D.C. Armory. Attending Mass was a special opportunity for us to pray for those lost to abortion and for those who are in pain as a result of an abortion. It was the perfect way to help us prepare for the big event later in the day. Following Mass we remained at the Basilica for a while before departing for the White House and ultimately the March for Life.
Upon arriving at our metro stop we walked to the White House to pray a decade of the Rosary for our president and all elected officials that they would enact laws that respect the dignity of all human life from conception to natural death. We then made our way to the National Mall for the March for Life rally. We were among the first to arrive but as we made our way closer to the stage we still weren't close enough to see the speakers although we could hear what they were saying. As the afternoon moved along more and more people began to crowd the Mall and soon it was time for the March to begin. It probably took us half an hour or more just to make it to the street because the crowd was so large. It probably took us an hour and a half to get from the Mall to the Supreme Court. I've heard a crowd estimate of around 400,000. There were many people there - priests, religious, lay people; Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, etc.; young and not so young. One thing that always stands out though is the fact that so many young people are in attendance every year. These generations have been profoundly impacted by this issue - missing brothers, sisters and friends - and the numbers of those in attendance just keeps growing. 
The March for Life is always a bittersweet experience - bitter because we are there to mourn the loss of our brothers and sisters who have gone before us and because of the pain that so many men and women are now coping with as a result - we come to show that we're here to help them heal; sweet because we are thankful for the gift of life and can together witness to the fact that life is a precious gift. We ended the day with Vespers at the Dominican House of Studies which is always a treat. We actually began the March near the Dominicans and were very blessed to be able to join them for prayer in the evening. 
After a long weekend we packed up, bid farewell to our new friends at St. Leo's and headed back to Missouri. We ran into some rain through Tennessee and just about when we were passing into Kentucky the snow started to fall - as we continued it began to be too much to continue driving safely so we had to stop for the night about two and half hours away from Cape Girardeau. The snow was fun for the students to play around in before getting a good night's sleep. The next day, once we made it out of the snow-covered area, the weather was great and we made it safely back to Cape in time for students to attend their afternoon classes.
Praise be to God for a safe and fruitful trip! We thank all our benefactors and St. Leo the Great Parish for making this trip possible. I know the students made memories they will always remember and experienced a renewed passion for defending life and lending support to those who are in need of assistance as well as helping those who are in pain as the result of this issue heal. Through the intercession of Our Lady of Guadalupe, may God grant all hearts the grace of welcoming life into the world and protecting the dignity of every person from conception until natural death.
Check out this video to get an idea of the March for Life crowd:
Check out this video to get an idea of the March for Life crowd:
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