The March for Life 2025 in Washington, DC was an amazing experience of God’s grace. I was blessed to go on a bus with a group of our seminarians from the Diocese of Pittsburgh. When we arrived at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, we visited the various chapels dedicated to Our Blessed Mother under various titles, many from different countries. At 5:00 PM we participated in the Vigil Mass for the March. We felt embraced by the Mother of God and held close to her Immaculate Heart. At the end of the Mass, Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament was carried in procession throughout that immense and majestic church. As we knelt in adoration before God-made-Man in that shrine dedicated to His Mother, we were united to that embrace between Mother and Son, and we knew that all were there to cherish and protect the bond between every mother and child.
The next day, Friday, January 24, we went to the foot of the Cross, made present at Mass in the chapel of Theological College (a seminary where some of our seminarians study) and received the glorified and resurrected Body and Blood of Jesus in Holy Communion. After a quick visit to the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, we were off to join the hundreds of thousands of people who were marching for life.
The atmosphere of this huge band of people was filled with hope and good will. Groups with banners depicting Jesus, His Mother, religious symbols, and names of churches and organizations walked along, often smiling and calling out to friends and acquaintances. Bishops, both Roman Catholic and Orthodox, priests, Christian pastors, religious sisters and brothers, and lay people were part of that joyful throng. Oh, yes, and young people, a tremendous number of young people who enthusiastically proclaimed their Pro-Life convictions. Occasionally, bands played. Young people chanted Pro-Life messages. Hymns were sung. Rosaries and Chaplets of Divine Mercy were prayed. Love welled up in peoples’ hearts. Hardly any opposition was voiced to this great movement of life.
Inspiring testimonies to the protection of unborn babies were delivered on the Mall before the Washington Monument. On we marched before those familiar monuments and buildings that speak of our nation’s history: the White House, the Capitol, the Washington Monument, the Supreme Court.
In the midst of this unifying and inspiring day, one reality emerged so very strongly—humanity. Our humanity, each one of us, was created by an all-loving, all-powerful, wise God. Our humanity, each one of us, is sanctified by God who became one of us, Jesus Christ. Our humanity, each one of us, is given life by God. We know in our heart that the gift of life must not be destroyed. Life must be protected, embraced, cherished and loved.
No matter the cacophony of messages about the unborn, the belief that larger persons have rights and the smallest in the womb do not, the misnomer of abortion being healthcare, and confused cultural ideologies, there is one reality at the heart of the abortion issue. That reality is humanity. If the unborn share in our humanity, if the unborn are human beings like us, just smaller and more vulnerable, then the truth is clear. Science has already demonstrated this truth - that the unborn, from the first moment of conception, are genetically distinct human persons that are destined to be born and live. They absolutely share in our humanity and, therefore must never be killed, destroyed, exterminated by abortion. In the end, humanity answers the question.
Most Reverend William J. Waltersheid Auxiliary Bishop of Pittsburgh