January 11, 2025

Respect Life Mass and March to be held Jan. 22

REGIONAL
By Carolee McGrath

SPRINGFIELD – The annual Respect Life Mass and March will be held at St. Michael’s Cathedral in Springfield, Wednesday, Jan. 22 at 10 a.m., on the anniversary of Roe v. Wade. Bishop William D. Byrne will be the celebrant, with Father Daniel Pacholec, the director of Pro-Life Activities for the Diocese of Springfield as the concelebrant.

The Mass is organized each year by Pope Francis Preparatory School and Pro-Life of Pioneer Valley, Inc. Following the Mass, participants are invited to take part in a march to Springfield City Hall where Pope Francis students will recite pro-life quotes. Those unable to walk stayed in the cathedral to pray the rosary.

“I think it’s very important to attend the March for Life because we need to be voices for the voiceless,” said Hannah Fanelli, a senior at Pope Francis and a member of the Christian leadership class which is helping to organize the event.

“We have to fight for those who cannot fight for their own lives and by going to the march, we are showing others that life is beautiful and worth fighting for,” she said.

The local event and the March for Life in Washington, D.C. which is scheduled for Friday, Jan. 24, commemorates the 52nd anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s controversial Roe v. Wade decision, which legalized abortion on demand. In June of 2022, the high court overturned that decision, not banning abortion, but giving the power back to the states to set their own abortion laws.

In Massachusetts, abortion remains legal through the ninth month of pregnancy, as a result of the Roe Act, which passed at the end of 2020. The Roe Act also lowered the age of parental consent to 16.

“I think it’s important to see teenagers standing up for people whose lives are given less value in society and who can’t defend themselves,” said Lily Day, a freshman at Pope Francis Preparatory School. Day also attended the local March for Life last year.

In addition to Pope Francis, all Catholic school, public and homeschooled students are invited to participate. St. Michael’s Academy in Springfield; St. Mary High School in Westfield; St. Mary School in Lee; and St. Stanislaus School in Chicopee were among the schools that sent students last year.

The march is not only attended by Catholics, but by many people from the wider western Massachusetts community involved in pro-life ministry. Representatives from local pregnancy care centers will also be in attendance.

“There is no greater weapon that we have than prayer,” said Bishop William D. Byrne about the upcoming march. “But we also have to stand up and give a voice to those who have no voice, especially the most vulnerable among us. So stand up with your prayers. Stand up with your voice. Stand up with your advocacy,” he said.

The Mass will be livestreamed on diospringfield.org. A reception will be held following the march in the Bishop Marshall Center.

More information about how to get involved in the pro-life ministry by assisting mothers, and to learn about post-abortive ministry, go to diospringfield.org.