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Catholic High School Students Take Their Faith on the Road to March for Life

Story by SUSAN KNAPP
& LIZ QUIRIN
Messenger staff

Early on Jan. 21, 14 youth and three adult chaperones from Mater Dei Catholic High School boarded a bus with the Missouri-Illinois (MO-IL) Life Caravan. Destination: Washington, D.C.

These young members of the high school’s Pro-Life Group were on their way to the nation’s 34th Annual March for Life.

The Mater Dei Pro-Life Group, sponsored by religion teacher Katherine Schneider, has about 35-40 students involved and meets once or twice a month.

The March for Life is among several large pro-life programs the group participates in throughout the school year, such as Legislative Day in Springfield, Ill. when students have the opportunity to meet with lobbyists and learn how they approach politicians about pro-life issues.

The March for Life, which takes place Jan. 22 marks the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion in the United States. Thousands of people from across the country gather in the nation’s capital every year to protest this decision.

“I thought it would be educational and fun at the same time,” Matt Dougherty, a junior at Mater Dei, said. “Just to see everybody there supporting pro-life” was a great experience.

“It was very inspirational,” Kristin Kuhl, also a junior at Mater Dei and the current president of the Pro-Life Group, said.

This was Kuhl’s second year to attend the march. She said this year seemed to attract more youth nationwide.

“On our bus alone, 37 out of the 55 people from the metro-St. Louis area were teenagers under 17,” Kuhl said.

Junior Christine Rehkemper said her faith was strengthened during the trip by saying a rosary, praying for all of the pregnant women in the world, and attending a youth Mass with others from across the nation.

The rally and youth Mass were held at the Verizon Center, the city’s largest site, where about 20,000 youth were expected to attend. Archbishop Donald Wuerl was the main celebrant.

All three juniors agreed that the highlight of the trip was the opportunity they had to speak to their congressman, John Shimkus, R-Collinsville, about his stand on pro-life issues.

Schneider, who was unable to attend this year, said the young people were empowered by the sheer numbers of other youth attending the events.

“Things might not change tomorrow, but they felt like they were making a statement and weren’t alone.”

Nine students from Gibault Catholic High School in Waterloo also attended the event.
Explaining the impact of the event, senior Olivia Ebers said: “To see all these pro-lifers everywhere was a very, very cool thing.”

This was Ebers’ third trip to Washington.

On her first trip to the march, Melissa Grimm was overwhelmed by the numbers of people who came. “It was really cold and they still came,” she said.

Malea Grimm, Melissa’s older sister, said people need to continue to make the trip to Washington, to support life issues.

“People have to keep it going for them to take you seriously,” Malea Grimm said.