Great, awful, and remarkable things happen on trains. Remember “Around the World in Eighty Days” by Jules Verne which features a dramatic, dangerous train journey across the American West. Or “Murder on the Orient Express” by Agatha Christie, which narrates a quintessential locked-room murder mystery aboard a luxurious train. Even Chris Van Allsburg’s “The Polar Express” ignites the imagination with a magical, atmospheric journey to the North Pole.
On January 22, 2026, the train I boarded for Washington, D.C., offered nothing dramatic or dangerous. The cars were far from luxurious, but the polar vortex was winding up and delivering an icy 20-degree punch. It was awfully, remarkably cold at 6:00 a.m. as I made the quick trip from the cathedral rectory to the Providence train station. There, I met the priests and seminarians from Our Lady of Providence and St. John’s seminaries, and a host of others, all heading to Washington, D.C., for the March for Life.
Folks from Worcester, Fall River, Norwich, and Providence, from a number of parishes and universities—we all boarded the train and settled in for the six-hour trip. Catholics of all phases and stages of life were onboard. We could have easily called it the “train of life.” Young, old, and everyone in between, diverse in so many ways, shared one goal, a single purpose, to witness to the dignity of human life from conception to natural death.
The March was amazingly joyful and peaceful. Not fueled by anger, but by love for the Lord, the Church, mothers and pre-born children, participants greeted each other like members of an extended family. It was more like a joyful witness and a celebration of life than a protest. The tone was positive, even when addressing controversial issues. As we marched along, participants from all over the U.S. showed their unity through prayer, calling on the Lord in Spanish, Tagalog, Polish, Portuguese, and other languages. Christ and our faith in him brought us all together.
This was not my first March and it won’t be my last. Even with the dismantling of Roe vs. Wade, abortions have increased across the U.S. due to availability of chemical abortions through the taking of pills at home. As Bishop Conley of Lincoln stated in his homily at the opening Mass for the Vigil for Life, “While we continue to work to change laws so that babies remain safe in their mother’s wombs, and women are cared for and protected in times of crisis and need, we need to redouble our efforts to continue building, in the words of St. John Paul II, ‘a culture of life and a civilization of love.’” In this “Post Roe Era” we find ourselves having to do even more to challenge and change minds and hearts.
This year’s March for Life saw a massive surge in young participants, with organizers estimating that nearly half of the approximately 150,000 attendees were of high-school or college age. Was it the “Charlie Kirk effect?” Have there been major shifts in belief with Gen Z? Maybe it has to do with modern messaging. Youth-led groups held up banners, blending scientific arguments with human compassion. Slogans like “The future is adoption, not abortion” and “Science says life begins at conception.” Not just a blend of science and compassion, but faith was evident as well in rosaries carried and prayed, hymns sung, and slogans chanted. It was inspiring.
Life is precious, a gift from God. Boston’s Cardinal Seán O’Malley repeated this several times in his homily Friday morning at the Mass at the close of the Vigil for Life, “Together, we can protect and nurture that gift of life. We must look for opportunities to be apostles of life.” He said, “The antidote to abortion is love. Love manifests in community, compassion, and solidarity. Life is a gift.” I hope that next year you’ll participate in the March for Life. Being a faithful follower and friend of Christ calls us to witness to life. Get on the “life train!” Welcome aboard!
