Franciscan University at the March for Life 2007

Document Title: 2007 March for Life http://www.franciscan.edu/home2/Content/main.aspx?id=2279

Posted: Friday, January 16, 2007

2007 March for Life

STEUBENVILLE, OH--Snow squalls and a biting wind could not prevent a large portion of Franciscan University of Steubenville's student body from attending the National March for Life in Washington, DC, held January 22. Eleven buses filled with about 500 students joined hundreds of other Franciscan University students, alumni, and friends who marched in opposition to the 1973 Supreme Court Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion. "As a Catholic institution, we believe in the dignity of human life," said Mark Spencer, a senior with Students for Life who helped organize the trip."This is our biggest national opportunity to stand up with other pro-life supporters from across the country and show our belief in the dignity of life from conception to natural death."	A Franciscan University of Steubenville student marches with one of many signs provided by an anonymous donor.
Leaving campus at midnight, the students arrived in Washington, DC, for morning Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception celebrated by former Pittsburgh bishop and current Washington Archbishop Donald Wuerl. After Mass, the students assembled under a Franciscan University banner, also holding aloft a large image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, patroness of the unborn, for a rally on the National Mall between the Washington Monument and the Capitol. Students for Life President Mike Riordan explained the motivation for taking the renowned Marian image: "This serves as a witness to our belief in the intercessory power of Our Lady of Guadalupe, patroness of the unborn. We believe that the culture of life will be furthered mostly through prayer." As they marched, many students displayed placards that read "Pray to End Abortion" provided by an anonymous donor. Some students prayed the Rosary while walking; others sang the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. After the rally, the students marched to the steps of the US Supreme Court and prayed for an end to abortion and for other critical human-life issues. Some Franciscan students spent the weekend in Washington, DC, at the Students for Life of America annual conference and engaged in pro-life lobbying activities. Father Terence Henry accompanies students for the 34th annual March for Life in Washington, DC. The night before the march in Steubenville, many Franciscan students gathered at the University’s Christ the King Chapel for a Pro-Life Prayer Vigil. "We just celebrated Christmas, another reminder that every human life has value," Father Jonathan St. Andre, TOR, told them in his homily. Noting that amniocentesis is routinely used to identify infant abnormalities in the womb, he lamented that it is now a common practice to abort infants with Down Syndrome. "My sister Janine has Down Syndrome. I can’t imagine life without her. We can’t play God. Every person has inestimable value because they are made in the image of Christ," he said. Afterwards, the students processed to the nearby Tomb of the Unborn Child on campus for more prayer at the site where seven aborted infants are buried. Thirty-four red roses, representing each year since the Roe v. Wade decision, were placed at the tomb. Students gather for a photo on the steps of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception under the Franciscan University banner and Our Lady of Guadalupe, the patroness of the unborn.