WASHINGTON (CNS) — With thousands of pro-life marchers
packed into the Basilica of the National Shrine of the
Immaculate Conception in Washington Jan. 21 for a special
Mass that launched an all-night vigil, Rita Richardson of
Fredericksburg, Va., couldn’t see the altar.
The 32-year-old parishioner of St. Matthew Church in
Spotsylvania, Va., stood quietly by a row of candles facing
the back of the basilica, closed her eyes and listened as the
sounds of the organ reverberated throughout the enormous
basilica.
Though she had attended the March for Life rally in
Washington each Jan. 22 for many years to commemorate the
anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade
decision legalizing abortion, it was the first time she had
joined the all-night vigil at the basilica, beginning with a
7 p.m. Mass the evening before the main event.
Richardson wasn’t anguished over her lack of a view of the
altar or the large television monitors that allowed some
spectators to see the principal celebrant, Cardinal Justin
Rigali of Philadelphia, chairman of the U.S. bishops’
Committee on Pro-Life Activities.
“I’m here with thousands of others who believe we must work
to end abortion,” she said. “I’m happy we have this kind of
crowd, because this is where we need to gather to be
nourished by Our Lord, so we have the strength we’ll need to
go out to the march and take action.”
Joining Cardinal Rigali at the opening Mass of the National
Prayer Vigil for Life were Cardinals Francis E. George of
Chicago, Sean P. O’Malley of Boston, Daniel N. DiNardo of
Galveston-Houston and William H. Keeler, retired archbishop
of Baltimore. Archbishop Donald W. Wuerl of Washington called
the event a resourceful assembly.
Catholics from all over the country traveled to the nation’s
capital for the 36th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision,
with blacks, whites, Hispanics, Asians, elderly, middle-age
and young Americans represented in the crowd at the opening
Mass.
“I’m so glad there are so many young people here tonight,”
said William Spencer, 39, of Dubuque, Iowa, who brought his
son, Alex, an eighth-grade student at Wahlert Catholic High
School in Dubuque, to the Mass. “It tells me there is a
future for the pro-life movement.”
Cardinal Rigali applauded the sacrifices of those who
attended the vigil and March for Life 2009 and said he
believed God was calling on his Catholic “pro-life disciples”
to gather prayerfully in his name so they could better
understand his will in what may be challenging times ahead.
Though he expressed joy that newly inaugurated President
Barack Obama had broken the racial barrier to become the
first black American to hold that high office, he said
Catholics must voice their opposition to abortion and
convince the new U.S. leader to help protect the most
vulnerable, the child in the womb.
“Thank you for your commitment to live out your faith,”
Cardinal Rigali said, “and to exercise your duties as
Catholic citizens by standing up for those who cannot speak
for themselves.”
The people in the pews and those sitting and standing in the
aisles and side chapels fell silent as the cardinal’s words
and the aroma of burning incense filled the largest basilica
in the U.S.
“It’s touching that people are so dedicated to the cause,”
said Marianna Wright, 15, a sophomore at Seton Catholic
Central High School in Binghamton, N.Y. “This place is
beautiful and it has a way of bringing people together for
the common purpose of supporting life.”
