Bishop Ricken's first time at March for Life

Bishop David L. Ricken was present for the youth rally and Mass at the Verizon Center Monday morning. Later he met for lunch with the youth from Greenville, marched with the Lamers group, and in the evening met the Xavier youth for dinner, prayer and sacrament of penance at a local Catholic church. It was the first time he had attended the March for Life.

"I'm so impressed by the numbers of young people," he told The Compass. "It is incredible. It looks like our youth are going to take hold of the pro-life effort and I think they're going to be able to make a change."

Torey Gostas, 15, of Xavier High School, echoed Bishop Ricken's sentiment. "I decided to come on this trip because I wanted to stand up for what I believe in with thousands of other people. I believe our generation is the one to end abortion in America."

Attendance at this year's march was somewhere between 100,000 and 400,000. Participants braved freezing temperatures and unexpected traffic issues as a large water main broke on the Beltway Monday morning.

The Compass

Fantastic to see a Wisconsin bishop involved!