Jan. 22, 2014
Bundled in coats and scarves, more than 360 students gathered at Caldwell Hall Jan. 22 to attend a morning rally before traveling to the National Mall for the 41st Annual March for Life.
President John Garvey mingled with students at the event and spoke briefly, alluding to a modern tendency in society not to discuss issues that are uncomfortable. He said the march is important for both "delivering a message that life is sacred" and demonstrating that "civil discourse is important."
Afterward, he joined them as they made their way down to the mall via Metrorail on a morning when the temperatures hovered in the teens.
As is customary every year, the University provided overnight accommodations to teen marchers from out of town at the Raymond A. DuFour Athletic Center the night before the march.
Approximately 250 Catholic University students volunteered to serve as hosts for the visitors. Students helped with hospitality, such as aiding with registering visitors, serving meals, chaperoning, and laying out sleeping bags.
Student volunteers also lead teams in the DuFour Center in the Rosary for Life and hosted eucharistic adoration and opportunities for confession.
CUA students served as ushers at the National Prayer Vigil for Life on the eve of the march in the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception's Great Upper Church. The Mass is organized by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Basilica, and Catholic University. (To read more about the work of the student volunteers, click here.)
The annual event in Washington, D.C., marks the anniversary of the 1973 United States Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade that legalized abortion in the U.S.