By Christina Leslie | Staff Writer

Faithful from the Diocese of Trenton marked the somber 42nd anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion on demand, with a clear, clarion call: life, in all its forms and all its stages, has value and must be protected as a God-given gift. Scores of men, women, teens and children, hailing from all four counties of the Diocese, joined hundreds of thousands of faithful from around the world in Washington to march along Constitution Avenue to the Supreme Court to make their message heard: every life is a gift from God.

 A rallying call from Bishop O’Connell

Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., had issued a rallying call for the faithful of the Diocese on the eve of the March. “Although the recent amputation of my lower left leg will keep me from marching with you in Washington, D.C. this year, I will be marching with you in my heart,” he declared, professing that the march’s theme, “Every Life is a Gift,” was a “conviction of faith so deep and dear to our hearts.”

Calling the sight of thousands from around the nation who participate in the March each year a powerful sign of faith, Bishop O’Connell continued, “Few gatherings strike me as bearing such great witness to the ‘Gospel of Life’ and few sights fill me with such pride as seeing pilgrims from the parishes, schools and institutions of the Diocese of Trenton huddled together as they march, carrying the emblem of the Diocese through the streets of our nation’s capital.”

Bishop O’Connell offered his prayers for those involved in the mission to show respect for life from birth to natural death, his message concluding, “Together, wherever we may be during the annual march, let’s lift up that gift of life — every life and every moment of life — in gratitude, in prayer and in the hope that the only “choice” people will embrace is a choice for life. 

Brothers and sisters in the cause

As pilgrims from the Diocese disembarked from over two dozen busses in the nation’s capital early Thursday morning, the men, women, teens and youth joined their counterparts from around the world in assembling on the National Mall to hear a lineup of speakers proclaim their respect for life. Several members of Congress, including U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04) addressed the crowd about their efforts to pass legislation in support of life.

Congressman Smith reminded the crowd, “You and I are here today because we have a compelling duty to protect the weakest and most vulnerable from the violence of abortion… You and I are working, praying even fasting for that day when every life is cherished as a gift; every life loved despite one’s disability, race, sex, color, religion or condition of dependency; every life welcome no matter the inconvenience…You are the pro-life generation, the next ‘greatest generation,’ who will, by your compassion faith and determination, transform America to a culture of life.”

Marchers hoisting signs and banners proclaiming their love for life in all its forms and all its stages streamed up Constitution Avenue towards the Supreme Court. Statements of faith carried by young and old included “Life is God’s Choice,” “Remember the Unborn,” “Save the Babies,” “Respect Life, God’s Sacred Gift,” “I regret my abortion,” and a bilingual affirmation that “I am the Pro-Life Generation,” with “Yo soy la Generacion Pro-Vida” on the reverse.

An electronic presence

Reflecting the role social media has with 21st century faithful, Pope Francis tweeted the March’s theme “Every Life is a Gift,” and the hashtag #marchforlife, as the thousands of pilgrims were streaming into Washington. Not to be left behind, students from around the Diocese were eager to share their impressions of the March for Life via the Diocese of Trenton’s #DoTMarch4Life hashtag, Facebook pages, Twitter, texts, Instagram and other avenues, and proved the old adage “children should be seen and not heard” held no validity on the subject of protecting life.

St. Joseph School, Toms River, sent a group of seventh and eighth graders to stand up for life in all its forms. Accompanied by teachers Rita Dishon and Donna Urmey, the bleary-eyed yet smiling youth snapped a picture as they boarded an early bus to the nation’s capital, and shared pictures of them praying the Rosary as their bus rolled towards Washington. Fellow bus riders from the parish youth group C.Y.G.N.U.S. (Catholic Youth Growing Nurturing Understanding & Serving) and their youth minister Catherine Werner also sent photos to memorialize their presence.

The bus filled with students and parishioners of St. Benedict, Holmdel, was accompanied by pastor Father Daniel Swift and parochial vicar Father Daniel Kirk. Photos of the group standing on the National Mall hoisting a sign, emblazoned with the parish name, were posted on the parish website soon after their arrival. Follow-up tweets from Father Swift noted he was, “very encouraged by the size of crowd. Must be thousands!,” while student Madison Huber shared she “love(d) the enthusiasm in the crowd,” and Greyson Riley proclaimed, “Glad I came. People here from all over.”

Facebook posts from Incarnation-St. James School showed pictures of smiling faces on the children standing in front of the buses which would bring them to join hundreds of thousands of their fellow proponents of life. Later in the March, ISJ teacher Beth Meagher texted a photo of the students standing proudly carrying signs bearing the messages “Defend Life” and “I am the Pro-Life Generation” declaring they were “witnesses for the sanctity of human life.”

A parish presence

A contingent of 37 adults and students from St. Jerome Church and School left the West Long Branch area after an early morning Mass celebrated by parochial vicar Father Walter Quiceno. The group included 12 seventh and eighth graders from the parish school, who shared insights on their March For Life experience.

Eighth grade student Erin Doran said, “I really liked it. The speakers were powerful and encouraging, to help support the cause,” and said it was sad to hear about the experiences of women who've had abortions.

Patrick Ferraro, a seventh grader, noted, “I learned a lot -- and I hope that one day there will be no abortions." Classmate Edward Denton added, “There are a lot more people who are against abortion than I originally thought," and noted he was surprised by the size of the crowd.

Bus captain Kathryn Perez noted the March for Life was “an uplifting experience. To see the thousands and thousands of people who share the same belief system, working for life; the crush of people was incredible,” she said.

Standing amidst the Incarnation-St. James School students, Donna Goodwin, diocesan coordinator for respect life ministries also wore a broad smile as she embarked for the March for Life. Noting the new route for marchers stretched an additional seven blocks on Constitution Avenue, she noted, “This lengthening of the March gave a much better view of the incredible number of people participating in this pro-life demonstration. I was impressed and given hope for the future by the numbers of young people.”

Goodwin rejoiced at the diversity of age and race in the marchers, and concluded, “The March for Life is quite an emotional and reaffirming event for me. It is wonderful to see that we are not alone in our belief that life begins at conception and is a gift from God.”

Correspondent Armando Machado contributed to this report.