by Jose W. Ferraz
9th Grade

January 22, 2003, was the 30th anniversary of the notorious Roe vs. Wade decision legalizing abortion in our country. It was cold that day, about 25 degrees. Yet, this did not matter to the many tens of thousands of people who came to protest abortion in the annual March for Life in Washington, D.C. Ever since 1973, this country has been plagued with the horrible sin of abortion, and every year, tens of thousands of Americans march in protest.

Students escort the statue of Our Lady of Fatima.

Before the March began, Nellie Gray, the main organizer of the March, gave a speech about the past marches and the ones to come. She demonstrated how the Pro-Life Movement would prevail over the evil of abortion. President Bush phoned in, and his message was broadcast on loudspeakers. He assured those present that he supported the Right-to-Life movement and that he was fighting hard for the rights of the most defenseless of citizens, the unborn.

After more speeches by notable pro-lifers, we started to form for the march, which follows Constitution Avenue from the Washington Monument to the Supreme Court. The students of the Academy followed the members of the American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property (TFP), the organization that runs our school. Their colorful red standards and statue of Our Lady of Fatima are always at the March. Some of us students were honored to escort the statue, holding smaller standards around Our Lady, as people prayed, sang hymns or just talked with other fellow pro-lifers. At a certain point, The Holy Choirs of Angels Band of the TFP played patriotic marches, such as “You’re a Grand Old Flag,” “America the Beautiful,” and “Marines’ Hymn,” along with the National Anthem. Some of our students belong to the band. Not content to just march, Academy students also assisted in passing out fliers with the message of the TFP entitled, “Defending the Church, Defending the Preborn.”

The Holy Choirs of Angels Band lends a lively beat to the March.

After the last of the marchers had passed, the band brought up the rear to the cadence of American military marches. Every year, the band encourages people in the March to keep up the good fight for God, Country and the innocent unborn children threatened by abortion. Finally, we lined up in front of the Supreme Court, prayed three Hail Mary’s, and shouted the perennial values of “Tradition, Family, Property!” Thus ended our participation in the March for Life, a milestone in the heroic fight against the great evil of abortion.

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Read a student's report on the Roe vs. Wade decision by clicking here.