OTTAWA (LifeSiteNews) — The 26th National March for Life is set to take place this Thursday as Canadians of all ages gather to celebrate life in every stage.
The National March for Life, organized by the pro-life organization Campaign Life Coalition, will attract Canadians from around the country to rally and march for the unborn beginning on Parliament Hill.
“We stand firm for the pre-born, mothers in crisis pregnancies, those targeted due to disability, and the elderly in hospitals and care homes,” Campaign Life Coalition pledged. “We march in solidarity with the vulnerable and marginalized.”
Sponsors for the event include LifeSiteNews, EWTN, 40 Days for Life, and the Knights of Columbus.
The events surrounding the March for Life begin at 7 p.m. EDT Monday, May 8 with a Songs for Life Coffee House at St. Theresa’s Parish in Ottawa, sponsored by NET Ministries.
On Tuesday at 7 p.m. EDT, there will be an in-person early preview of “Roe Canada: The True North in a Post-Roe World” and a roundtable discussion hosted by Dunn Media.
On Wednesday, Bishop Yvan Mathieu, S.M., auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Ottawa-Cornwall, will celebrate Mass at 7:30 p.m. EDT at St. Theresa Church, followed by a candlelight procession to the Canadian Tribute to Human Rights monument.
On Thursday morning before the March, there will be various Masses and prayer services before the rally on Parliament Hill, including a Mass at Notre Dame Cathedral offered by Archbishop Marcel Damphousse of the Archdiocese of Ottawa-Cornwall. A list of Masses and prayer services can be found here.
The Rally and March for Life will occur on Parliament Hill from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m., with the March through downtown Ottawa beginning at 1:30 p.m. After the March, there will be Silent No More awareness presentations beginning at 2:30 p.m. on the Hill. The rally will end with a closing prayer service led by the Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky Institute.
Evening events include the annual Rose Dinner and the Youth Banquet, both of which will take place at 6 p.m. at the Ottawa Conference and Events Centre.
The Rose Dinner will include the opportunity to meet prominent Canadian and U.S. pro-life leaders, Campaign Life Coalition staff, and Dr. Calum Miller, MD, a research associate at the University of Oxford who will deliver a keynote speech.
On Friday, young Canadians will gather for the Youth Summit, sponsored by Niagara Region Right to Life, that will include talks by Autumn Higashi from Students for Life of America and Dr. Miller.
The theme for the March this year is “stand firm,” taken from Ephesians 6:14, which reads,
“Stand firm therefore, having belted your waist with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness.”
For more information regarding the March for Life and events surrounding it, visit marchforlife.ca.