Washington, DC – “Before we can change laws, we have to change hearts, starting with our own,” Fr. Carter Griffin exhorted 17,000 young people gathered in Washington DC’s Verizon Center on Friday.

On one level, the annual March for Life hasn’t yet fulfilled its direct purpose, which is to change a law. But on a more important level, it’s been wildly successful – this year’s 650,000 participants are only a representation of the hearts that have been changed by the March.

The 40th March for Life was the largest yet (last year there were roughly 400,000 participants), and Regnum Christi members from around the country joined in standing up for the culture of life. Among them were about 40 students from Pinecrest Academy in Atlanta; girls from the Immaculate Conception Program in Oxford, Michigan; consecrated women from Mater Ecclesiae College in Greenville, RI; ECyD Mission Corps volunteers from Michigan; Regnum Christi Missionaries from New

	Youth Rally and Mass for Life at the Verizon Center

York and Washington; boys from Everest Collegiate High School in Clarkston, MI; consecrated women and Legionary priests and brothers from communities around the country…just to name a few. Many other Regnum Christi members came individually or in other groups; from Washington and from many other dioceses, to take part in what Fr. Griffin called “the greatest civil rights battle of all time.”

Fr. Griffin, the Vocations Director for the Archdiocese of Washington, was the homilist at the Youth Rally and Mass for Life before the March. He called on all of the young people present to take an active part in the fight for life; not to be merely spectators.

He reminded them not to take their lives for granted: “Forty years ago today I was a newborn infant; I was among the last to be born with the right to life. How many of you here are younger than forty years old?”

As most of the hands in the stadium went up, he reminded them, “You did not have that right.”

After the Youth Rally, the marchers gathered at the National Mall and began the walk to the Supreme Court building. Surrounded by the praying, singing, and cheering crowds, several people mentioned that the

	RC Missionaries from New York are the 'Avengers4Life'

March had a “World Youth Day feel.”

“I loved seeing how many young people were there, and realizing that the next generation is supporting life,” said high school junior Lucia Westrick, who drove from Michigan for the March. 

Many of the marchers carried signs saying ‘I am the pro-life generation,’ and it did seem that the majority were in their 20s or younger – a sign that the pro-life legacy is not only being carried on, but it growing stronger all the time.

The witness continued as many of the marchers spent the weekend sightseeing in DC – still sporting their pro-life sweaters, hats, and scarves. Weekend visitors to Washington’s landmark sights were treated to a taste of the culture of life, as priests, religious, and youth groups strolled through museums and toured the downtown!

The March for Life was a renewal of hope in a challenging battle. As Bob Rice, a writer and professor at the Franciscan University of Steubenville, told the

	April Pickett with ECyD Missionaries from Chile

crowds at the Verizon Center:

“We have no human enemies; we have only potential allies and friends. Our battle is with the principalities and powers, and our weapon is prayer.”

Fr. Carter Griffin echoed Mr. Rice in his homily:

“It is a time for crisis, that’s true,” he said; “but crises are simply times for heroes, and for the greatest lovers of all: they are times for saints.”