Whether it will be in Washington, D.C., or on the steps before the State House in Trenton, Jan. 22 will be the day when more than 2,000 men, women and children of all ages from throughout the diocese will join in peaceful solidarity and show their support for human life in all its stages.

Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., has invited the diocese’s faithful to travel with him to the nation’s capital and participate in the 41st annual March for Life Jan. 22 which is an annual prolife rally held in Washington. Numbers exceeding 100,000 pro-life advocates peacefully and prayerfully protest the infamous 1973 United States Supreme Court decision of Roe v. Wade which legalized abortion.

Events closer to home include a Respect Life Mass celebrated at 9:30 a.m. in St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral, 151 N. Warren St., Trenton. Following the Mass, participants are welcome to gather for the annual Rally for Life to be held in front of the State House, which is located about a mile away from the cathedral on West State Street in Trenton, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.  The rally is scheduled to feature a number of speakers including pro-life legislators, leaders of pro-life groups and ministries and clergy.

There are also numerous Masses and prayer services scheduled to take place in parishes around the four-county diocese of Burlington, Mercer, Monmouth and Ocean.

In anticipation of Jan. 22 and the 41st anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities is calling for “Nine Days of Prayer” from Jan. 18-26. The “Nine Days of Prayer, Penance and Pilgrimage” was initiated in January of last year. Resources to be used during the novena including prayers, blessing of pilgrims and leading Eucharistic Holy Hours are available at www.9daysforlife.com. This year the novena is available through daily emails, text messages and through a smart phone app which can be subscribed to at www.9daysforlife.com. In addition, a short guide titled, “One Night of Prayer, Penance and Pilgrimage” for youth and young adult ministry to in their ministry, is also available on www.9daysforlife.com. 

Other events that are planned in Washington will include the opening Mass of the National Prayer Vigil for Life to be held Jan. 21 at 6:30 p.m. in the Great Upper Church Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. The closing Mass for the Solemn Prayer Vigil for Life is slated for Jan. 22 at 7:30 a.m., also in the basilica’s Great Upper Church. The Archdiocese of Washington is sponsoring its annual Youth Rally and Mass for Life at the Verizon Center and the DC Armory, both in Washington, on Jan. 22 before the March for Life. Two youth groups from the diocese, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Whiting, and St. Mary Parish, Barnegat, will be traveling to Washington the evening before in order to attend the Youth Rally, which begins at 7:30 a.m.

Following the Mass, pilgrims from the diocese will take part in the rally on the National Mall from noon to 1 p.m. and the march that will immediately follow during which they will walk along Constitution Avenue, up Capitol Hill to the Supreme Court and on to Congress.

Donna Goodwin, coordinator of Respect Life Ministry in the diocesan Department of Pastoral Care, estimated that there will be some 1,500 pilgrims journeying to Washington with Bishop O’Connell on Jan. 22, then noted that many of them will travel on the more than 20 buses sponsored by parishes and Knights of Columbus councils as well as on a bus that will transport diocesan staff and personnel. Other pilgrims will make the journey by way of mass transit or their own vehicles. Historically, the Trenton Diocese has had a strong and proud representation of young people at the march, hailing mostly from Catholic schools, parish religious education and youth ministry groups.

Offering encouraging words for faithful to attend either the March for Life in Washington or the State House rally, Goodwin said that “Abortion is the most important human and civil rights issue of our time. It is inspiring to see hundreds of thousands of people, the majority of them being youth, who share the same ideals and want to see an end to abortion.”

Attending the March for Life in Washington shows your belief that human life begins at conception and that you are fighting for the rights of mothers and their babies,” she said.