The March for Life is a annual pro-life event in Washington, D.C. (WNYC File Photo)

The 2016 March for Life will take place in Washington, D.C. on Friday, Jan. 22.  Catholics and others in solidarity will join in a pilgrimage of public witness, penance and prayer for all those victimized by the1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion.

Buses departing from various locations in the diocese (see schedule below) will travel the morning of Thursday, Jan. 21, and plan to arrive at the Washington Plaza Hotel in time attend the National Vigil Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception at 5:30 p.m.  More than 300 people from the Diocese of Buffalo are expected to make the trip to Washington either on one of the several buses or via car or plane.

On Friday, Jan. 22, Bishop Richard J. Malone, bishop of Buffalo, will celebrate Mass at the Washington, D.C., armory with youth groups from Western New York.  Three of the buses from the diocese will carry youth and chaperones who will attend this Mass.
The other buses will attend Mass and have breakfast at the Washington Plaza Hotel.  The main celebrant at Mass will be Bishop Edward M. Grosz, auxiliary bishop of Buffalo.  Kathryn J. Lopez, a senior fellow at the National Review Institute and editor-at-large of "National Review Online," will be this year's featured speaker at the breakfast.  Lopez frequently speaks on faith and public life on college campuses, and on radio and television.
The rally at the National Mall and the March for Life down Constitution Avenue to the Capitol and the Supreme Court will take place after the breakfast.

For more information about the March for Life, contact the Office for Pro-Life Activities at 847-2205.