Thousands fill national shrine for vigil Mass marking Roe anniversary

Published: 2006-01-23

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- They were just an aisle apart but almost-6-month-old Abigail Matava and 102-year-old Hattie Proctor symbolized the full spectrum of life that thousands of pro-lifers jammed the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington Jan. 22 to celebrate. More than 6,000 people -- many of them high school and college students -- filled every square inch of the basilica's upper church, including the side chapels, and its lower Crypt Church for the National Prayer Vigil for Life on the anniversary of the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion on demand. "We gather in this sacred space to bear witness yet again to the terrible cloud that has darkened our nation since the Supreme Court declared 33 years ago today that the life of a human being, a life created in God's image, may be ended before its birth," said Cardinal William H. Keeler of Baltimore, the main celebrant and homilist of the vigil Mass. "We come together to pray that this darkest of clouds might at last be lifted. We come together again to pray for the triumph of life," said the cardinal, who is chairman of the U.S. bishops' Committee on Pro-Life Activities.

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