By Blanca Morales - Florida Catholic
Photographer: COURTESY PHOTO | Maria Olmos
FIU students and alumni pose in front of the Washington Monument during their trip to D.C. for the March for Life. From left: Lisa Brown, Maria Olmos, campus minister Rigo Vega, CJ Opaleke, and Roxana Santamaria.
WASHINGTON, D.C. � While college students from throughout Florida were taking part in March for Life events, another college group from Miami was having a pilgrimage of their own.
From January 20 to 24, 10 Florida International University students and alumni traveled to Washington D.C. with Rigo Vega, campus minister for FIU�s main campus and its new Catholic Panthers student organization. (Campus ministry at FIU south is overseen by St. Agatha Parish and its pastor, Father Rolando Garcia).
The pilgrimage was very spiritual, Vega said. The group participated in daily Mass, prayed the rosary in front of the White House, and visited the Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land in D.C.
At the monastery they learned about the early Church and saw replicas of the major places in Christ�s life.
�It was fitting for this pro-life pilgrimage,� Vega said of the Church�s history. �Romans controlled people through fear of death, but they couldn�t control the Christians who didn�t fear death.�
The group also attended the Youth Rally and Mass for Life at the Verizon Center hosted by the Archdiocese of Washington just before the March for Life on Jan. 23.
�The rally was beautiful,� said Maria Olmos, a freshman majoring in education. �I had never listened to Christian music before then, and I ended up liking it.�
Olmos said she found the talks to be inspirational and motivating, and the homily given by Msgr. Charles Pope, pastor at Holy Comforter-St. Cyprian Parish in Washington, D.C., also helped her see life and her calling to education in a different light.
Upon hearing that 90 percent of pre-born babies diagnosed with Down syndrome are aborted, Olmos is considering becoming a special education teacher.
�I plan on going back next year,� she said of the March for Life. �And next year, we will not protest the legalization of abortion, but rather we will celebrate the illegalization of it.�
Vega also plans to bring a Silent No More Awareness campaign to campus. The campaign highlights the consequences of abortion through the personal testimonies of those who have had one, while reaching out to people who have been hurt by it.
When the FIU group first began their pilgrimage, the majority hardly knew each other or Vega. The trip was put together two weeks before the March for Life, shortly after the beginning of Vega�s tenure as campus minister. But by the end of the trip, friendships were established based on the mutual faith shared by the attendees and the common call to advocate for the lives of the unborn.
�We shouldn�t be pro-life for just one weekend,� Vega said. �We should always be talking about it.�
From January 20 to 24, 10 Florida International University students and alumni traveled to Washington D.C. with Rigo Vega, campus minister for FIU�s main campus and its new Catholic Panthers student organization. (Campus ministry at FIU south is overseen by St. Agatha Parish and its pastor, Father Rolando Garcia).
The pilgrimage was very spiritual, Vega said. The group participated in daily Mass, prayed the rosary in front of the White House, and visited the Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land in D.C.
At the monastery they learned about the early Church and saw replicas of the major places in Christ�s life.
�It was fitting for this pro-life pilgrimage,� Vega said of the Church�s history. �Romans controlled people through fear of death, but they couldn�t control the Christians who didn�t fear death.�
The group also attended the Youth Rally and Mass for Life at the Verizon Center hosted by the Archdiocese of Washington just before the March for Life on Jan. 23.
�The rally was beautiful,� said Maria Olmos, a freshman majoring in education. �I had never listened to Christian music before then, and I ended up liking it.�
Olmos said she found the talks to be inspirational and motivating, and the homily given by Msgr. Charles Pope, pastor at Holy Comforter-St. Cyprian Parish in Washington, D.C., also helped her see life and her calling to education in a different light.
Upon hearing that 90 percent of pre-born babies diagnosed with Down syndrome are aborted, Olmos is considering becoming a special education teacher.
�I plan on going back next year,� she said of the March for Life. �And next year, we will not protest the legalization of abortion, but rather we will celebrate the illegalization of it.�
Vega also plans to bring a Silent No More Awareness campaign to campus. The campaign highlights the consequences of abortion through the personal testimonies of those who have had one, while reaching out to people who have been hurt by it.
When the FIU group first began their pilgrimage, the majority hardly knew each other or Vega. The trip was put together two weeks before the March for Life, shortly after the beginning of Vega�s tenure as campus minister. But by the end of the trip, friendships were established based on the mutual faith shared by the attendees and the common call to advocate for the lives of the unborn.
�We shouldn�t be pro-life for just one weekend,� Vega said. �We should always be talking about it.�
