Catholics from the Archdiocese of St. Louis are preparing to head to Washington, D.C., this month for the 47th annual March for Life in Washington, D.C. The march observes the anniversary of the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court Roe vs. Wade decision, which essentially legalized abortion in all 50 states. Hundreds of thousands of individuals, including several contingents from the St. Louis Archdiocese, are expected to attend the march and rally, which will be held Friday, Jan. 24.
• More than 2,400 people will represent the archdiocese at the Generation Life pilgrimage, sponsored by the archdiocesan Office of Youth Ministry, Wednesday-Sunday, Jan. 22-26. Separate programming tracks will be held for eighth-graders and high school students.
Teens will meet at satellite locations in the archdiocese on Jan. 22 and will unite in Washington, D.C., for the Generation Life program. Archbishop Robert J. Carlson is expected to celebrate Mass for the entire group Jan. 24 before heading to the National Mall for the march. A live stream of events and updates from Generation Life will be posted at
genlifestl365.com.
• Applications are still being accepted for the annual Missouri Life Caravan to Washington, D.C. Buses will leave from various sites in the St. Louis metro area the morning of Thursday, Jan. 23. The group will travel overnight and arrive in the nation’s capital the morning of Jan. 24. From there, Missourians will have the chance to meet with senators and congressional representatives from Missouri before attending the march. The group will leave after the march and travel overnight, arriving back in St. Louis on Jan. 25.
Cost of the trip is $220 per person. Participants must be at least 7 years old, and youths ages 7-17 must be accompanied by an adult chaperone. For more information, call Missouri Right to Life at (314) 434-4900, email [email protected], or visit www.missourilifecaravan.org.
• Father Noah Waldman will celebrate the annual Roe vs. Wade Memorial Mass at 10 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 18, at the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis. The Mass, organized by the archdiocesan Respect Life Apostolate, will prayerfully remember the Roe vs. Wade and Doe vs. Bolton decisions, and pray for a renewed commitment to building a culture of life. A collection will be taken up for LifeLine Coalition, a network of local pro-life and social services organizations that help more than 10,000 women annually.
The Mass is preceded by a rose procession, which remembers those who have been lost to abortion since 1973. After Mass, a Rosary procession to Planned Parenthood will take place. The Rosary procession will return to the cathedral basilica and conclude with Benediction, followed by a reception in Boland Hall. The Respect Life Apostolate is seeking volunteers born between 1973 and 2019, as well as a mother due in 2020, to participate in the rose procession. For more information, call (314) 792-7559.
• A Young Adult Pro-Life Holy Hour will take place on Thursday, Jan. 23, at the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis. Open to young adults, the evening will begin with dinner and fellowship at 6 p.m. in Boland Hall, followed with 7 p.m. eucharistic adoration and confessions at the cathedral basilica. Afterward, the group will return to Boland Hall to hear a pro-life speaker and enjoy dessert. For more information, contact [email protected] or (314) 792-7555. The event is organized by the archdiocesan Respect Life Apostolate and Office of Young Adult Ministry.
Follow Generation Life on social media
Follow the St. Louis Review on Twitter (@StLouisReview) and Facebook (@StLouisReview) and reporters Jennifer Brinker (@JenniferBrinker) and Lisa Johnston (@aeternusphoto) on Twitter for coverage from the Generation Life pilgrimage and the March for Life Jan. 22-26.
The Office of Youth Ministry also will post updates from Generation Life on Twitter (@GenLifeSTL), Instagram, Facebook and its blog, genlifestl365.com.