Witnesses to life come in many different forms.

They could be a group of Franciscan sisters praying the rosary on a street corner. They might be ecstatic high schoolers shouting call-and-response chants in front of the Supreme Court steps. Or maybe they’re three bundled children, led by their proud father, draped in bright ponchos and holding signs proclaiming themselves the Pro-Life Generation.

All these witnesses and tens of thousands more descended upon the National Mall in Washington, D.C., Monday for the 39th annual March for Life. Treading through mud, sidestepping puddles and shielded under umbrellas, marchers walked from the Mall to the steps of the Supreme Court, bringing with them a spirit unable to be stanched by clouds, fog and intermittent rain.

“It’s always a joyful spirit,” said Jeanne Guerin, director of religious education at St. Mary Church in Alexandria, who has been marching for nearly 30 years. “We still have a lot of hope and joy. If anything, we’ve gained fervor.”

The march protesting the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision to legalize abortion began with a noon rally where several religious and members of Congress spoke. In opening remarks, House Speaker John Boehner said that a respect for life at every stage was instilled in him and his 11 siblings at an early age.

“When we affirm the dignity of life, we reaffirm our commitment to liberty and freedom,” Boehner said. “When we don’t affirm life, when life is cheapened, weakened, here or abroad, freedom is diminished.”

Defending life does not follow a political affiliation, Boehner said. Rather, “it’s about standing on principle.”

“I’ve never considered being pro-life a label or a political position, it’s just who I am,” he added. “It’s not just that I am pro-life, it’s that we as a people are pro-life.”

Other speakers included Nellie Gray, founder and president of the March for Life Education and Defense Fund, which organizes the march; and New Jersey Congressman Chris Smith.

Attending the march for the first time, Marjorie Jeffrey, 21, a parishioner of St. John the Beloved Parish in McLean, said it was essential to demonstrate that young people haven’t forgotten Roe v. Wade.

“I think it’s important especially for the media and for the elite in America to see that we’re not our parents’ generation,” Jeffrey said. “We’re not the generation that accepted Roe v. Wade and we haven’t forgotten about it and we’re not going to stop fighting until we overturn (it).”

More youthful voices were heard loud and clear during the march, with teens from Pope John Paul the Great High School in Dumfries engaging marchers in joyful chants as they walked past the Supreme Court, banners held high.

“It’s so wonderful to see so many young people,” said Mary Salmon, pro-life coordinator at St. Andrew the Apostle Parish in Clifton. “Years ago you didn’t see this many. Now it’s all young people and I love it, and hope they really are taking it to heart.”

By marching, the youths can “see that they can make an impact with their decisions,” said Rhonda Heckman, a parishioner of St. Patrick Parish in Fredericksburg. “We have a responsibility to speak for those who can’t speak for themselves. If we remain silent nothing will ever change.”

Those no longer remaining silent included several women who, as part of the Silent No More Awareness Campaign, publicly testified to their own abortions while standing in front of the steps of the Supreme Court.

Father Frank Pavone, national director of Priests for Life, said one of the reasons the “days of legal abortion in America are numbered” is because of those who are speaking out.

“The voices of those who have had abortions and the voices of those who have facilitated abortions are being heard,” he said. ”Those who have had abortions are saying, ‘It did not solve our problems. It only created more.’”

Standing close to the fence separating the crowd from the Supreme Court, Cheryl Forbes, Carol Jones and Tina Hertz Evans, from Our Lady of Hope Parish in Potomac Falls, St. Catherine of Siena Parish in Great Falls and St. Theresa Parish in Ashburn, respectively, prayed the rosary while swathed dramatically in black veils.

“40 years we mourn,” read the sign held by Forbes, and Hertz Evans described the passing of Roe v. Wade as the start of the “American holocaust.”

“The day that this happened in 1973 was the day that I grew up,” Jones said. “I just didn't believe my country could do this.”

Signs of hope that there may be an end in sight to the more than 50 million lives lost from abortion, Forbes said, include the increasing number of youths and the increasing participation of representatives of other faiths at the march.

Lynette Carter, a parishioner of St. Michael Parish in Annandale, hopes soon there will no longer be a reason to commemorate the Jan. 22 passing of Roe v. Wade.

“I am hopeful that one day we will be having the last march of jubilation saying we succeeded,” she said. “I don’t know how long it will take, but I know it will happen someday.”