By Daniel Sone - Florida Catholic
Photographer: DANIEL SO��| FC
Archbishop McCarthy High School students, from left, Alannah Alfonso, 16, Jennifer Wilford, 16, and Yimalisse Nazario, 17, walk joyfully towards the National Mall to participate in the March for Life.
Photographer: DANIEL SO�� | FC
From left, Belen Jesuit Preparatory School students Gerry Portella, Julian Ochoa, Enrique Menendez, Giovanni Rodriguez and their teacher, Sylvia Davalos, escort their banner towards the U.S. Supreme Court.
WASHINGTON, D.C. � �Anti-claustrophobic� is how Jose Villena, 17, described the feeling he got while being inside the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.
It was the opposite of the way he felt while participating in the 37th annual March for Life Jan. 22. �I felt crowded but it was good to be with so many people who stand up for life,� said the Christopher Columbus High School student.
On the anniversary of the Roe v. Wade U.S. Supreme Court decision which legalized abortion, 112 students from the archdiocese�s Catholic high schools joined hundreds of thousands of others who shared their pro-life stance.
Photographer: DANIEL SO��| FC
Belen Jesuit student Francisco Villafa�e, 14, has his sign stuck into his backpack.
Jackie Pujol, 18, an Our Lady of Lourdes Academy senior, was glad to be a part of the annual protest for a second time.
�It was impressive,� she said, estimating that 400,000 people attended this year, exceeding the number she saw on the march two years earlier.
Photographer: DANIEL SO�� | FC
Jordan Portal, 17, of Christopher Columbus High School takes part in his first March for Life.
�I looked out and just saw a mass of people. It was the biggest one I�ve been to in about 18 years. Ever,� Dugard said.
Despite cold temperatures that were difficult for the south Floridians to tolerate, and the wall-to-wall people, the march inspired awe in the students and chaperones from the archdiocese.
�That unity was just amazing,� Pujol said.
�Seeing all those people is just very powerful. How they all love life and want to protect it. It feels good to not be the only one who wants to help,� said Kayla Dangle, 14, a freshman at St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Fort Lauderdale.
That unity with other Catholics as well as people of other faiths �Evangelicals, Jews, Orthodox, and Muslims � turned the usual 20-minute walk from the National Mall to the Supreme Court into a slow, three-hour trek for life.
Photographer: DANIEL SO�� | FC
Immaculata La Salle High School student Arantza Eseverri, 16, spends some time in silent prayer during the Mass in the Crypt-level of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.
They toured the basilica�s 70-plus chapels and oratories and craned their necks backwards to see the huge mosaics on the arches, ceilings, and domes.
�It is beautiful and gigantic. I love it,� Kayla said.
The students not only got to admire the church for its beauty, they also celebrated Mass with a large group from the Archdiocese of Omaha, Neb., in the Crypt Church. The Mass closed-out the pro-life pilgrimages of both diocesan groups to Washington, D.C.
�The reason we bring them to this basilica is obvious. Here, there is a building showing that life begins at conception,� said Joan Crown, archdiocesan director of respect life.
READ LAURA D'OVIDIO'S MARCH FOR LIFE BLOG HERE
READ ALANNAH ALFONSO'S MARCH FOR LIFE BLOG HERE
Photographer: DANIEL SO�� | FC
Students from archdiocesan high schools pose for a group shot on the National Mall during the March for Life rally.
Photographer: DANIEL SO�� | FC
Students from the Archdiocese of Miami pose for a group shot before the U.S. Supreme Court, marking the endpoint of the March for Life.
Photographer: DANIEL SO��| FC
Father Richard Mullen distributes Communion to the teenagers in the crypt-level of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. The delegations from the Archdiocese of Miami and Archdiocese of Omaha celebrated Mass together.
To see, purchase these and other March for Life pictures, click here.
