January 15, 2016
WASHINGTON - The National Prayer Vigil for Life will be held from Thursday afternoon, January 21-Friday morning, January 22, at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, where Pope Francis celebrated Mass during his recent visit to Washington. Over 20,000 pilgrims from around the nation will pray there for an end to abortion before the annual March for Life. The Vigil marks the 43rd anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court's 1973 Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton decisions legalizing abortion nationwide. Since those decisions, over 56 million abortions have been performed legally in the United States.
The principal celebrant and homilist at the Vigil Opening Mass will be Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York, chairman of the U.S. bishops' Committee on Pro-Life Activities. It will be concelebrated by his fellow cardinals and many of the nation's bishops and priests in the Basilica's Great Upper Church. The 14-hour Vigil continues in the Crypt Church with confessions, a National Rosary for Life, Byzantine Rite Night Prayer, and holy hours led by seminarians from across the country from 11 p.m.-6 a.m. That same evening, The Catholic University of America will host approximately 1,000 pilgrims overnight.
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