Camden, N.J. – The St. Anthony of Padua Church contingent, including a banner made with the help of Rutgers University-Camden students, was seen on the EWTN network last week as part of its coverage of the Jan. 21 March for Life in Washington, D.C.
Twelve people from St. Anthony’s, including John Coughlin and myself, attended the annual event. We ranged in age from 10 to 71. Only three of the 12 had been to the March before.
On our way south, we stopped at St. Camillus Church in Silver Spring, Md., where we met up with the St. Bonaventure University contingent led by Peter Schneible. Peter, John and I concelebrated their 8:40 a.m. Mass in a combination of English, Spanish, Latin and Vietnamese. We were then treated to a breakfast by the Knights of Columbus.
The only thing missing was the prescence of Ignatius Smith and his group from Callicoon, N.Y. Ignatius is well known for his pro-life efforts at St. Camillus, and he was certainly missed this year.
We then headed down to the mall where we joined tens of thousands of marchers from around the country. Because the politicians on the stage were long-winded, we did not start marching until about 2:30, when we’d expected to begin at 1:00. Hence, our group re-named the event the Stand for Life.
Since the march route was shortened last year, the actual time spent walking was quite brief. Once we got to Capitol Hill, our group headed back to our van and proceeded to the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception for a quick tour, and to Langley Park, Md., to have some pupusas before returning to Camden.
It was a very good trip, and we were happy to find out the following day that our group and our new St. Anthony of Padua banner were seen prominently on EWTN.
EDITOR’S NOTE: The photo above by Fr. Jud Weiksnar appeared on the front page of the Camden diocesan paper, the Catholic Star Herald.