Over the weekend from February 22 to the 26 around 20 St. Pius X students travelled to Washington D.C to participate in the March for Life protest. The March for Life protest is a protest advocating for life and fighting against abortion.
Prior to leaving Mr. Liam Byrne, assistant campus minister, said “I’m probably most excited for the beautiful sites, particularly the church and the Saint John Paul the Second Institute is my favorite scene.”
On Thursday, January 22nd the students and chaperones, including freshman religion teacher Ms. Sierra Campbell, the Director of Campus Ministry Ms. Miranda Contreras, Assistant Director of Campus Ministry Mr. Bryne, and Chaplain Fr. Robbie, left school for the two-hour flight to D.C. and from there the trip was on. They went from their hotel to attending mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception then to the march.
“We got to go to church and, like, it’s really, really beautiful, the biggest Catholic Church in the United States. So I think that walking in there and seeing just like a completely packed church with everybody who was going to be walking later was really, really incredible,” said senior Bella Gratch.
During the march, they started with hearing speeches from several different people like Vice President JD Vance , all addressing topics related to pro-life movements. After the speeches they started the march at the Washington Monument and ended at the Supreme Court Building.
“It was honestly a really beautiful experience just being able to go to something where so many Catholics could just come together to show a peaceful support for pro-life movement and getting rid of abortion,” mentioned senior Catherine Walker.
After attending the march, they came together for dinner and rested for the next day. They then went to different museums and monuments and watched as Father Robbie celebrated vigil mass with over 100 bishops and priests from across the country. Then they finished off the trip with a night of ice skating.
“It definitely gave me like hope and it definitely, like brought peace, seeing the beauty of the Basilica, and also, just like in the ice skate, I haven’t gotten to do that in a long time, so that was really joyful,” said Mr. Byrne.
The march deeply impacted many of the students because of what they saw and stood for. Many stated that they learned new things and would definitely go again.
“I think that it kind of opened my perspective on why people believe, like, what they believe,” said senior Andrew Walker.
Students were able to see the good and stand up for Catholic beliefs, even when it’s hard and many saw a positive impact from this experience.
“I think that it was just a really incredible experience to see everybody come together about something that they believe in, and just like tied it back to my faith and trying to grow deeper in it and understanding that, like, each life is so precious, and like God has a plan for all of us” said Gratch
Walker also said the experience made an impression on him.
“I think it just shows that there are lots of kids or young adults getting active in their communities and fighting for international issues,” ” he said.
The March for Life trip was a huge success and a great experience for those who attended. It was a nice break from school and was very enlightening to those willing to have an open mind and open heart.
