WASHINGTON – As residents of the nation’s capital prepared to hunker down for a major winter storm, thousands of people from across the country came to the city in droves, determined to participate in the 53rd annual March for Life on Friday, Jan. 23.
Men, women and children of all ages, some in strollers and others in wheelchairs, gathered at the National Mall, a few blocks from Pennsylvania Avenue, around noon Friday as they geared up to march the streets of Washington.
Students and staff from 10 of the Columbus diocese’s Catholic schools joined thousands in the national capital. Adorned in school colors and waving flags, they brought their school spirit to the streets and marched for the unalienable right to life.
“It is a gift that we were able to participate in the March for Life and to help protect the dignity of each human life through the work of our office,” said Father Bob Penhallurick, director of the diocesan Office of Pro-Life Activities.
“We hope that the joyful witness of those who march will help inspire others to see life as a gift that is to be received and cherished rather than something that is a burden to be discarded.”
The 2026 March for Life, “Life is a Gift,” focused on rediscovering beauty, joy and goodness inherent in every human life. The theme was chosen amid ongoing debates on abortion drug usage and state-level expansion of abortion policies.
A pre-march rally on the National Mall featured Vice President J.D. Vance, a practicing Catholic from Ohio and father of four children, the youngest of whom is a preborn baby boy.
“Let me just say, my friends, that we have to be clear: We cannot be neutral. Our country cannot be indifferent about whether its next generations live or die,” the vice president said.
“We march today because you have an answer to this question about what kind of civilization we are and about what kind of civilization we are going to become in the future.”
Several of the Columbus diocese’s schools joined Bishop Earl Fernandes the morning of Jan. 23 at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception before the march.
The bishop celebrated a morning Mass for pilgrims from the dioceses of Columbus; Toledo; and Rockville Centre, New York, on Long Island; and the Archdioceses of Cincinnati and St. Louis. Hundreds of students, clergy and consecrated religious filled the pews of the crypt church in the basilica’s lower level, many standing along the crypt walls and sitting on the floor.
As the faithful prepared to evangelize lawmakers, judges and government officials by traversing the capital city streets later that day, Bishop Fernandes recognized that opposition to life dates back millennia.
“There are always forces that want to extinguish life, take someone’s brother’s life,” he acknowledged. “The pharaoh slaughtered the Hebrew children. Herod sought to destroy the Christ Child.”
The bishop commended the congregation for coming to Washington to support life.
“It is one thing to come to the nation’s capital and see beautiful buildings and see images of history,” he reflected. “It’s another thing to come as a pilgrim, saying, ‘I’m in need of ongoing conversion.’”
He encouraged students and faithful to “be with Jesus.” Doing so, the bishop explained, means being with Christ in the unborn child, a worried and anxious mother, and society’s most vulnerable individuals.
Father Tom Gardner, a priest of the Columbus diocese and pastor at Newark St. Francis de Sales Church, concelebrated Mass with Bishop Fernandes and participated in this year’s march.
“As a priest, it’s really important for me to help show my support for the most vulnerable in society and also to be here with the young people that are from Newark Catholic High School,” he said.
“It’s so important for the next generation to really take up that mantle of supporting those who are most vulnerable in society. They are both the present and the future of the pro-life movement.”
Trends point to an ideological shift among younger generations. A recent survey from the Public Religion Research Institute found a 12 percent rise in members of Gen Z (born from 1997 to 2012) who identify as pro-life, increasing from 28 percent to 40 percent.
Data compiled by the Charlotte Lozier Institute found that 45 percent of Gen Z supports limiting abortion after the first trimester. That number was 35 percent in 2020.
Aaron Schaefer, 20, a seminarian of the Columbus diocese studying at the Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus, said knowing that he is “not alone” was particularly striking at this year’s March for Life.
“Sometimes we feel like we can be alone in a fight, but that it’s, actually, in a sense, working. We’re moving forward. We’re changing the culture one person at a time,” he said.
“It’s important for the future of the Church to show that we still haven’t moved away from our traditional teaching. Pope Paul VI’s ‘Humanae Vitae’ (‘Of Human Life’ (1968) encyclical letter) is still very much alive.”
Diocesan seminarian Kevin Negaga, 26, iterated that he was “moved by the numbers of people who have shown up for the march.”
“It really speaks about the future of the Church,” he said, “because once we protect the life of the unborn, we’re also protecting the future of the Church.
“It’s quite a pleasure for me to also be here and join other pilgrims in this journey celebrating life.”