This year’s national March for Life in Washington, D.C. is going virtual, and as a result the annual Ordinariate Mass before the March is now cancelled for 2021. Instead, Catholics in the Ordinariate are being invited to join virtually a Sanctity of Life Mass on Jan. 22nd instead, the 48th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion in the U.S.
The March for Life Education and Defense Fund, announced on Jan. 15th its decision to hold a virtual-only March for Life, citing the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and security concerns following the Jan. 6 riots at the U.S. Capitol.
This year’s U.S. March for Life will take place virtually on Jan. 29, with a handful of pro-life leaders in attendance.
The Ordinariate Mass before the March is typically hosted by St. Luke’s Catholic Church at the Ordinariate parish’s former location of Immaculate Conception Catholic Church on 7th street in D.C. In a Facebook post, St. Luke’s announced they have also cancelled for 2021 due to the virtual nature of the March.
However, the Ordinariate is holding a Sanctity of Life Mass, celebrated by Bishop Steven J. Lopes, at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Walsingham in Houston, Texas. The Mass is Friday Jan. 22 at 6:30 pm CST / 7:30 pm EST, and will be live-streamed on the Ordinariate Facebook page.
According to the Ordinariate’s Flocknote announcing the Mass, Students for Life of America president Kristan Hawkins will speak following the Mass at 8:15 pm CST / 9:15 pm EST. Hawkins’ talk will also be live-streamed.
Other Ordinariate parish communities have plans to promote the sanctity of human life on Jan. 22, which is observed in the US as a Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children.St. Alban’s Catholic Church in Rochester, N.Y. has planned a 7PM Holy Hour of Evening Prayer, the Rosary, Eucharistic adoration, and sacramental confession, on Jan. 22nd to pray for “both an end to abortion, and for a culture where every life is loved, valued and supported from conception to natural death.”
Editor's Note: If you belong to an Ordinariate community, please share any parish activities related to the Jan. 22nd Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children with the ACS's St. Peter's Rambler.