Photo courtesy of Alexis Nicaud

Respect Life Members Enjoy March for Life

Nineteen members of the St. Joseph’s Academy Respect Life Club participated in the 2010 Louisiana Youth Pilgrimage to the March for Life in Washington, D.C. They were among 230 high school and college students, teachers, parents, seminarians and priests traveling to the nation's capital from Baton Rouge. The group left on Monday, January 18, and returned on Saturday, January 23.

“...it was the most moving experience I’ve ever encountered.” Mary Ashton Honore '10

The 37th annual March for Life on the Mall was held the morning of January 22. Other trip highlights included tours of the nation’s capital, visits to the Lincoln, Vietnam and Korean memorials, MP3 (music, prayer, praise and play) evenings, a visit to the Holocaust Museum, a Louisiana pro-life rally at Georgetown University High School, youth rallies and daily mass.

The theme of this year’s march was From Womb to Tomb: We Stand for Life.

SJA theology teacher and Respect Life Club moderator Marie Ruggiero accompanied the group to Washington, D.C. “Hardly a day went by that I wasn't inspired by the courage and resolve of the youth of our nation to save lives," she said. "For the growing numbers of youth in this country, their dream is to overturn Roe v. Wade and to build a culture of life. I believe that their mission will have a huge impact on women and the unborn.

"I've been on many different kinds of student trips in my 20 years of teaching, but on this pilgrimage, I truly experience God's grace at its best," Ruggiero added. "I walked proudly, shoulder to shoulder, with my SJA girls who impressed all who spoke with them. They were articulate, courageous and compassionate. I've never been more proud to be a sponsor of a club as I was at this March for Life."

“When I signed up for the trip, I thought the march was going to be thousands of people screaming at each other and fighting, but once we got there, it was the most moving experience I’ve ever encountered,” said senior Mary Ashton Honore. “Everyone was so respectful to each other, and it was a huge bonding experience. Thousands and thousands of teenagers came together for a common cause. Our generation has lost one-third of us to abortion, and we were all fighting to stop this. I encourage everyone to go on this trip and plan to go back next year.”

Junior Margeaux Marks said the trip was a remarkable, memorable experience. “Despite all the beautiful, historical sites we visited, this was no trip, it was a pilgrimage,” she said. “Despite the harsh schedule of waking up before sunrise and getting back to our bunk beds after 11 p.m., the week was beautiful and Christ-filled. We attended church every day and prayed the rosary as often as possible. One particularly heartbreaking stop was the Arlington Cemetery. Before seeing the overwhelmingly large amount of graves, 300,000 to be exact, we were told that this was the same number of babies aborted every 2.5 months. This statistic really made me become even more passionate about our cause.”

Senior Melanie Eddington said she especially enjoyed the opportunity to spend the week with people living their vocations in many ways. "We were truly blessed to witness nuns in their full habits, seminarians, priests, married couples and young adults seeking to do God's will," she said. "I learned that true peace lies in doing whatever God calls you to do, and you could see the peace and joy in the eyes of the beautiful nuns like the Nashville Dominicans we got to meet at the march and on the trip home. They were full of life as well as respect for all life. They praised and encouraged us for taking a stand for such a relevant issue at our young age, and I am aware of how momentous an occasion it was for teenagers to spend their time and energy working toward building a culture of life."

Senior Alexis Nicaud said the March for Life far exceeded her expectations. “Though I have never been a part of a protest, it was such a peaceful and reassuring experience to be surrounded by hundreds of thousands of young people who are continuously working to reverse the harm of Roe v. Wade,” she said. “Everyone at the march was so kind and reverent in their protesting, and you could tell that we were all working to advocate the beauty and sacredness of human life. I feel so incredibly honored and truly blessed to have been a part of such an important event, and I’m so thankful to our school and chaperones who supported us on this journey.”

“The March for Life was a wonderful event that I was happy to attend,” said senior Elaine Vidrine. “The day of the march went great. When I saw the amount of people, it was great knowing that all these people have the same beliefs that I do. Even though the week started with early mornings, late nights and cold weather, I had fun with the other SJA girls. My favorite part of the week was MP3 at the camp. Singing praise and worship with everyone was so much fun.” 

Sophomore Ashlyn Blanchard said her first March for Life was a great experience. “Being with so many youth who all have the same beliefs was incredible,” she said. “We had the opportunity to open up with each other and to others. We spoke out for our stand on life and had the chance to learn more about the pro-life beliefs. We had many opportunities to show people who we are and our reason for being there. We prayed all throughout the week for those who have had any experience with life decisions. The march was truly a unique experience to see thousands of young people standing up for life.”

Senior Jessica Bordelon called the pilgrimage “one of the most meaningful experiences of my life. I had the opportunity to ‘be counted’ and march for something I truly believe in. It is really hard to put into words how amazing this trip was. The climax of the pilgrimage, the march on Friday, was definitely my favorite part. We were surrounded by hundreds of thousands of mostly teens making a stand for the belief that all life, from womb to tomb, is precious. The last leg of the trip was equally memorable. We stopped in Nashville, Tennessee, to see the Nashville Dominicans. Their service to prayer and education for everyone truly inspired me and challenged me to be open to all vocations.”

Junior Jeanne Logarbo said the march was the pinnacle of the week. “There were so many people there, and it was encouraging because we were able to realize that we had the same beliefs about abortion being wrong,” she said. “We were there to save babies by prayer and sacrifice which was our chant throughout the pilgrimage. We were able to stand up for our beliefs, and I hope many people consider going next year because it was a life-changing experience.”

Senior Laura D’Aquin said she will never forget the experience. “The most surprising part for me was to see so many people my age fighting for the same cause,” she said. “It was great to know that we were all trying to make some kind of difference in the world.”

The group was accompanied by theology teacher Marie Ruggiero and SJA parent Shelly Romero.


Mindy Brodhead Averitt
Communications Director