March for Life 2018
A record 56 Jesuit students join more than a half-million others
at the world’s largest pro-life demonstration
JESUIT PERSPECTIVES • WINTER 2017-18 7
A record 56 members of Jesuit
High School’s Pro-Life Club made the
club’s annual trek to Washington, D.C.
in January to support the rights of the
unborn at the March for Life.
Led by school president Fr. Richard C.
Hermes, S.J. and Pro-Life Club
moderator Rania Saade, the large
Jesuit contingent joined more than
half a million marchers on Jan. 19,
heading from the National Mall to the
steps of the U.S. Supreme Court as part
of the largest pro-life demonstration in
the world. The event marked the 45th
year since the landmark 1973 Roe v.
Wade Supreme Court ruling regarding
abortion.
In addition to the renowned march,
the Pro-Life Club and six chaperones
enjoyed numerous educational and
spiritual experiences during their
four-day pilgrimage. Shortly after their
arrival on Jan. 17, the group visited
the Smithsonian’s National Zoo, the
National Archives, and Georgetown
University. The nation’s oldest Jesuit
university (founded in 1789), the
Jesuit students celebrated Mass at
Georgetown’s Dahlgren Chapel.
Jan. 18, Day 2, included a visit to
St. Matthew’s Cathedral, the seat of
the Archbishop of the Archdiocese of
Washington; listening to lecturers at
the Ethics and Public Policy Center,
including Catholic author and social
activist George Weigel; celebrating
the Mass for the Unborn at the
Basilica of the National Shrine of the
Immaculate Conception at Catholic
University; and Compline at the
Dominican House of Studies.
On Jan. 19, prior to the March
for Life, they celebrated Mass with
students from other Jesuit schools
around the country at Gonzaga
College High School. The Rally for
Unborn at the National Mall began
at Noon, followed by the March for
Life. Jan. 20, the last day, the Jesuit
group visited Mount Vernon,
Loyola Blakefi eld (a Jesuit school
in Maryland), and the city of
Baltimore.
Jesuit students at Mount Vernon