Thousands of young people celebrate their love for life at the pre-March rally Life Fest
By Cecilia Engbert
It was a cold morning and barely past sunrise, but that didn’t deter the thousands of young people from across the country streaming into EagleBank Arena in Fairfax, Virginia — just outside the nation’s capital — to pray and rally at Life Fest on Jan. 24 before the March for Life in Washington, D.C.
The two-day event, co-hosted by the Knights of Columbus, the Sisters of Life and the Diocese of Arlington, began the previous night with musical performances, pro-life testimonies and Eucharistic adoration. On both days, long lines formed for confession and the opportunity to venerate the relics of saints and blessed, including Blessed Michael McGivney, St. John Paul II and St. Teresa of Calcutta.
In its third year, Life Fest merged with the Diocese of Arlington’s long-standing Life is Very Good event to offer a dynamic celebration of life for young people.
“This event will inspire a new generation and help them see that life at all stages is precious” said Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly in a statement preceding the event. “Love is the answer; it transforms lives and changes hearts and minds, and that’s what Life Fest is all about. Together, we pray for a world in which abortion is unthinkable.”
With music blasting, emcees Sister Charity and Sister Cora Caeli of the Sisters of Life welcomed the animated crowds Thusday night before giving the stage over to the musical talent, beginning with the band We Are Messengers and followed by Grammy-nominated Catholic musician Matt Maher.
As members of the crowd waved their arms and sang along, Maher performed several of his hit songs, including “All the People Said Amen” and “Hold Us Together,” before offering a testimony of his own journey of faith.
“We need to ask ourselves, at what point are we going to start to say it’s our job to create a culture of life?” Maher said. “As incredible as events like this are, we actually have to go back out into the world and not be of it, but be in it and start to make substantive, real cultural change in the world.”
He concluded, “What the world needs now more than ever before [is] the willingness to grow in our convictions as Catholics and be uncompromising in the totality of the Gospel, every aspect from womb to tomb.”
Before leading the evening’s closing Eucharistic procession and Benediction, Bishop Michael Burbidge of Arlington encouraged attendees to reflect on the theme of the Jubilee Year 2025: Pilgrims of Hope.
“Do you know what gives me hope? All of you,” he told the audience. “Hope for us is rooted in a person, Jesus, the Son of God and the son of Mary. Our hope is rooted in his power to transform hearts. … Do not underestimate what your presence in our nation’s capital will mean tomorrow because young people, that’s why the Lord loves his young people so much, they have a charism, a gift, an ability to turn heads.”
Sydney Gehle, a campus minister at Lansing Catholic High School in Michigan who traveled to Life Fest with a group of students, also noted the hope she experienced during Life Fest.
“Especially in this Jubilee year, it’s really hopeful to see so many young people want to give their lives to Jesus and do something that isn’t really comfortable, for the Lord and for life,” she said. “I’m really inspired.”
Returning Friday morning, Life Fest participants were greeted by a lively performance from the folk rock band Scythian. Danylo and Alexander Fedoryka, both members of John Carrell Jenkins Council 7771 in Front Royal, Virginia, and founding members of Scythian, joked that their 8 a.m. performance was one of their earliest performances ever. But they were thrilled to “open for Jesus.”
“It’s all about this generation; this is the generation that forges ahead,” Alexander said. “We have to invest in the youth. And that energy is electric. We feel that when we’re on stage [at these events]. … There’s a joy that surpasses understanding, that gives that an extra kick for us, that we love playing for.”
Dominican Father Gregory Pine, assistant director of the Thomistic Institute and a brother Knight, encouraged his audience to carry out the pro-life movement every single day of the year — beyond the two days of Life Fest and the March for Life. Living for life, he said, begins by confronting three common fears and giving them to the Lord: hurt, sadness and fatigue.
“Live for love, and live for life,” he said. “It’s more than slogans. It’s a matter of testimony, and you can constitute a pro-life generation today, tomorrow and throughout the whole course of the year, and unto ages of ages.”
During Life Fest, several women shared their testimonies about choosing life and experiencing healing after abortion. Accompanied by her husband and three children, one mother, Susanna, told of her experience with an unplanned pregnancy. Despite her fear and desperation, she found strength and support from the Sisters of Life after refusing an abortion.
Another woman, Connie, told how the sisters accompanied her on her healing journey as she sought to overcome the shame and despair that followed abortion. She now uses her experiences to empower other women to find healing.
For young Catholics, nothing feeds the flames of pro-life advocacy like the witness of peers. John Paul Tamisiea, a senior at St. Mary’s Central High School in Bismark, North Dakota, said Life Fest was well worth the 30-hour bus ride he and his classmates made to Washington.
“It’s a really joyful event, just to see a lot of young people so attracted to supporting life,” said Tamisiea. “We have a strong Catholic, pro-life community in Bismark, and I felt that it would be really important to come support the pro-life movement and just try to make a difference.”
Peter Lucas, a teacher at St. John Paul the Great Catholic High School in Dumfries, Virginia, was inspired to see a new generation carrying on the fight for life. A member of Mount Vernon Council 5998 in Alexandria, Lucas helped lead a group of students from St. John Paul the Great to both Life Fest and the march.
“It’s really important to give young people an opportunity to experience the joy of witnessing for life,” he said. “It’s important for them to think deeper about life, not only supporting life but living their lives to the fullest. I know how much I benefited from the march when I was their age, and being able to contribute to their experience as part of a larger community than just their high school — it’s a little bit awe-inspiring and very rewarding.”
Life Fest concluded with Mass celebrated by Supreme Chaplain Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore and concelebrated by three other bishops and over 50 priests.
Father Scott Traynor, a brother Knight and a priest of the Diocese of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, delivered the homily, sharing how his experience as a child of adoption has shaped his commitment to the pro-life movement.
“As I’ve grown older, I’m also grateful for whoever was in [my mom’s] life that rallied around her, that didn’t let her be overwhelmed by fear or hide away in silence but helped her and supported her love in action to make a generous choice for life,” Father Traynor said. “Jesus tells us perfect love casts out all fear. God calls us, you and me, each in our own way, in the opportunities that come up in our daily lives, to be instruments and witnesses of his love and love in action.”