Catholics across the nation joined forces at Life Fest, an event co-hosted by the Diocese of Arlington, Sisters of Life and Knights of Columbus at EagleBank Arena in Fairfax Jan. 23.
Through an evening of song, talks and Eucharistic adoration, pro-lifers prepared their hearts and minds for the National March for Life, which would take place the next day.
The bright arena plunged into darkness, and the pro-lifers let loose cheers as a video played, encouraging pro-lifers to continue exemplifying their pro-life beliefs, even amid a world facing so many evils.
As the lights came on, the band We Are Messengers took to the stage and launched into a high-energy concert.
Following the concert, Deacon Richard M. Malebranche, who is preparing for the priesthood, and Sisters of Life Charity and Cora Caeli gave pro-lifers a warm welcome and introduced the evening keynote speaker, nine-time-GRAMMY nominee Matt Maher.
Maher performed several of his most popular songs, including “Your Grace Is Enough” and “Hold Us Together.” He then addressed pro-life teens in the audience, emphasizing their need to recognize their own personal dignity.
“And why is that important? Because I think that you guys as a generation right now are struggling in a lot of ways, and you’re very honest about it. So many young people are struggling to find a sense of purpose, a sense of meaning. You want your life to count for something. So many young people are struggling with their sense of dignity because it’s constantly being manipulated and taken advantage of,” he said, pulling out his phone and holding it up, “primarily on this.”
“What the Gospel says is, though, you have infinite dignity and infinite worth, an infinite value. And once you discover that in yourself, God wants to empower you to go ahead and create a culture that raises up the dignity and the value and the worth of every single human being,” he said.
Maher challenged pro-lifers to demonstrate against a “culture of death” by taking to the streets at the March for Life. “We need to ask ourselves, at what point are we going to start to say that it’s our job to create a culture of life?” he said. This is a not a job for just the youth, however, he clarified: “There are singers in here, or artists or writers or clothing designers or businesspeople, or potential doctors or lawyers, and God wants to use you as transformational agents in the world to help bring about a culture of life in the world.”
In addition to Maher, pro-lifers listened to the testimony of a mother, Susanna, who almost went through with an abortion but changed her mind after an encounter with a pro-life advocate outside of a Planned Parenthood center. Today, she is a wife and mother of three.
Rev. Malebranche then introduced Bishop Michael F. Burbidge, who welcomed the pro-lifers to Washington.
“We all enjoy welcoming you who are coming from other dioceses and parts of our country,” Bishop Burbidge said. “I’m so grateful to my tremendous team here in the Catholic Diocese of Arlington, the Sisters of Life, the Knights of Columbus, who are making this Life Fest possible.”
The 2025 March for Life coincides with the Holy Year 2025, with the theme of hope, Bishop Burbidge said. With millions of children lost each year to abortion, Bishop Burbidge said, “How can we be filled with hope?”
He reminded pro-lifers that hope is not a fleeting feeling of optimism, rather it is rooted in the belief that Christ has the ability “to transform hearts of elected officials, of mothers and fathers.”
“He uses you to be his instruments, and do not underestimate what your presence in our nation’s capital will mean tomorrow, because, young people, that’s why the Lord loves his young people so much. Young people have a charism, a gift, an ability to turn heads,” he said. “Let’s go to our nation’s capital tomorrow after Mass, and let’s do so together in joyful hope.”
The crowd then knelt as Bishop Burbidge exposed the Eucharist in adoration and — for the first time in the evening — the thousands in attendance remained in complete silence.
Ann Hurley, a parishioner of Our Lady of Hope Church in Potomac Falls, said the evening’s events reminded her of the importance of being a pro-life witness to her seven children.
“I think being a witness … as I foster that love of Jesus inside of my own children is super important,” she said, “As they continue to grow in their relationship with him, that they watch me continue to foster that deeper relationship myself is paramount.”
This story has been updated.
