Teenagers, college students and young adults are invited to participate in archdiocesan pilgrimages to National March for Life
Walking together during the 37th annual March for Life on Jan. 22 in Washington, D.C., are, from left, St. Patrick parishioner Tom McBroom of Terre Haute; Servants of the Gospel of Life Sister Diane Carollo, director of the archdiocesan Office for Pro-Life Ministry; and Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary parishioner Branden Stanley of Avon, who volunteered as a videographer for the Jan. 21-22 pro-life pilgrimage. (File photo by Alea Bowling)
By Mary Ann Wyand
Want to promote respect for life in a big way?
Teenagers, college students and young adults who would like to support the Church’s pro-life advocacy efforts can still register for the archdiocesan bus pilgrimage to the 38th annual National March for Life on Jan. 24 in Washington, D.C.
Kay Scoville, the director of youth ministry for the archdiocese, said high school students, collegians, young adults and adult chaperones can travel in one of four archdiocesan buses to the nation’s capital from Jan. 22-25 for the peaceful and prayerfulp pro-life demonstration.
The cost of the bus pilgrimage is $175 per person by Dec. 21 and $185 per person by the Jan. 7 final registration deadline. Early registrants will receive an archdiocesan pro-life sweatshirt.
For more information about the bus trip, call the youth ministry office at 317-236-1430 or 800-382-9836, ext. 1430, or log on to the pilgrimage website link at www.archindy.org/youth/MarchforLife.html. Registrations must be made with a parish youth minister or school campus minister.
College students and young adults who want to participate in the National March for Life on Jan. 24 in Washington as well as the national conference of the Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS) on Jan. 21-23 in Baltimore can still register for the archdiocesan Young Adult and College Campus Ministry pilgrimage, which includes air travel.
The cost of this pilgrimage is $219 for students and $299 for non-students. Reservations must be made by Dec. 17.
For more information, send an e-mail to Matt Faley, the program coordinator for young adult ministry, at mfaley@archindy.org.
To register for the combined pilgrimage to Washington and Baltimore, log on to www.indycatholic.org.
These pilgrims will also need to register for the FOCUS conference at http://focusconference.org/baltimore.
In past years, the archdiocesan Office for Pro-Life Ministry has collaborated with the archdiocesan youth and young adult ministries staffs to coordinate the March for Life pilgrimage.
For the first time, Servants of the Gospel of Life Sister Diane Carollo, the director of the pro-life office, is coordinating a local, solemn pro-life observance on Jan. 24 in Indianapolis, which begins with Mass at noon at SS. Peter and Paul Cathedral and continues with a march from the cathedral to Veterans Memorial Plaza for a downtown prayer rally.
Scoville said youth and young adult participants in the pilgrimage by bus will gather at the cathedral for a 6 a.m. Mass on Jan. 22 before the group departs for Washington.
“We are gathering for a send-off Mass at the cathedral as we always do,” she said. “Then we are going to drive through the day, which is different than what we have done in the past. We are staying at Georgetown Preparatory School in Bethesda, Md., in their school gymnasium, and they are going to provide meals.”
On Jan. 23, these pilgrims will have an opportunity to tour historic sites and museums at the National Mall in downtown Washington.
Due to overcrowded conditions each year during the National Mass for Life at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, the bus pilgrims will not participate in that liturgy this year.
Instead, they will participate in the “Life Is Very Good” rally in Arlington, Va., which includes Mass as well as a concert by Catholic musician Matt Maher.
On Jan. 24, members of both pilgrimage groups will participate in a pro-life Mass at 9:30 a.m. in the Crypt Church at the basilica, which will be celebrated by Archbishop Daniel M. Buechlein.
“Anyone from the archdiocese is welcome to join us for that Mass,” Scoville said. “From there, we will participate in the March for Life from noon until 3:30 p.m. then load the buses and travel all night home.”
She expects about 1,000 people from throughout the archdiocese to travel to Washington for the
pro-life march with parish and school groups.
“We have seen a lot of conversion of hearts as a result of this pilgrimage,” Scoville said. “We plant the seeds and hope that the youths will keep [pro-life advocacy] going in their parishes.” †
