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Bishop, pro-life advocates pray outside abortion clinic

George Goss | Catholic Herald Multimedia Journalist

Bishop Michael F. Burbidge greets attendees of a pro-life prayer vigil outside the Alexandria Women’s Health Clinic, an abortion facility. GEORGE GOSS | CATHOLIC HERALD

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Attendees pray during the Mass in Thanksgiving for the Gift of Human Life at Queen of the Apostles Church in Alexandria April 6. GEORGE GOSS | CATHOLIC HERALD

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Bishop Michael F. Burbidge greets Christendom College students participating in a pro-life vigil outside the Alexandria Women’s Health Clinic, an abortion facility. GEORGE GOSS | CATHOLIC HERALD

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Mario St. Francis Herrera, a Queen of the Apostles parishioner, and his daughter, Lilly-Rose Therese, wave to passersby outside the Alexandria Women’s Health Clinic, an abortion facility. GEORGE GOSS | CATHOLIC HERALD

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Pro-life flags flutter in the wind outside the Alexandria Women’s Health Clinic, an abortion facility. GEORGE GOSS | CATHOLIC HERALD

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Attendees of a pro-life vigil pray the Rosary outside the Alexandria Women’s Health Clinic, an abortion facility. GEORGE GOSS | CATHOLIC HERALD

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Attendees of a pro-life vigil pray the Rosary outside the Alexandria Women’s Health Clinic, an abortion facility. GEORGE GOSS | CATHOLIC HERALD

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 After participating in an early morning Mass April 6 at Queen of
the Apostles Church in Alexandria, Bishop Michael F. Burbidge and more than 200
pro-lifers gave prayerful witness outside a nearby abortion facility, the
Alexandria Women’s Health Clinic.

“The cause that unites us is the protection of the unborn whose
lives are so sadly and tragically taken each day. And there is a sense of
urgency to our cause as we have recently witnessed the failure of elected
officials to support life-giving bills and as we have listened to their
increasingly alarming rhetoric,” Bishop Burbidge said in his homily.

A busload of students from Christendom College in Front Royal
left at 5:30 a.m. to be present for the Mass and the prayer vigil outside
5999 Stevenson Ave., where the abortion facility is located. Until recently, it was in the nearby Landmark Towers.

“I think that it (abortion) is inarguably the most important
human rights issue in the world today. Being out here in the public and
witnessing to life is really important for us to do,” said Elizabeth Eller, a
sophomore at Christendom and the president of Shield of Roses, a pro-life group
on campus.  

Every Sunday, Shield of Roses will pray the rosary as well as the
Divine Mercy Chaplet outside an abortion facility. 

A priest, as well as a dozen young adults, knelt on the concrete
sidewalk facing the building’s entrance as everyone prayed the rosary together.
Bishop Burbidge led the group in praying the fifth decade of the Sorrowful
Mysteries.

Trish Laguilles attended with her son, Joshua, a toddler.

“I’ve always had a heart for the pro-life movement, but when you
adopt it becomes so much more personal: just knowing that this little guy
(Joshua) could have been aborted, but his birth mom chose life for him,” said
Laguilles, a parishioner of Blessed Sacrament Church in Alexandria.

Others, such as Mario St. Francis Herrera, a Queen of the
Apostles parishioner, faced the road, held signs and waved to passersby in
their cars. Herrera’s sign said that 2,264 babies were killed at the Landmark
Towers abortion facility in 2016.

“It is my daughter’s birthday, and this is the right place for us
to be,” Herrera said as he gestured to his daughter, Lilly-Rose Therese who was
perched on his shoulders.

For one couple, the prayer vigil was a chance for them to pray
that women facing crisis pregnancies will choose life — a radically different
choice than the one they made in their college years.

“When we were in college, we had an abortion. It was very sad.
But after that we opened our eyes (…) We are so thankful for the bishop being
here and the people here who came from all different parishes. We are joining
forces so this clinic will be shut down soon,” said Alberto Calimano, who
attended the vigil with his wife, Yseth, and their three children.

Making the Diocese of Arlington abortion free is a realistic
goal, according to Amy McInerny, respect life director in the diocesan Office
of Marriage, Family and Respect Life.

“Our goal is an abortion-free diocese. There used to be seven
abortion facilities and we prayed four of them closed,” McInerny said. “The
power of prayer is beyond anything that we can understand.”

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