Youth Recharged in Faith During March for Life Pilgrimage

Early in the morning on January 20, about 400 youth and adults departed on buses from various points in the Baton Rouge diocese for a pilgrimage to the nation’s capital.

With a mantra of “prayer and sacrifice,” the pilgrims made a round-trip trek of more than 2,400 miles to speak out for the unborn at the 2025 March for Life. Through their experiences, they also underwent an internal journey of conversion that revitalized their faith, according to organizers.

The pilgrimage itinerary included stops at the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Hanceville, Alabama, and the motherhouse of the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia in Nashville, Tennessee. From there, some of the Dominican Sisters accompanied the youth for the rest of the pilgrimage. Pilgrims also visited Mount Vernon and Arlington National Cemetery, where they watched the changing of the guards.

Other historic stops included the National Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Emmitsburg, Maryland, and Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

In Washington, D.C., youth visited and attended Mass at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, the Holocaust Museum, Museum of the Bible, American History Museum, and the National Mall to see historic monuments.

The youth had numerous opportunities to pray and bond through daily Mass and nightly MP3 worship sessions at Camp Letts, where youth stayed while in the Washington, D.C. area. The night before the march on Jan. 24, the youth held a March for Life Vigil night of worship at the camp. 

Such opportunities were a highlight for the pilgrims.

“It was beautiful to see a Eucharistic revival among our generation on the pilgrimage,” said Riley Sanders, a senior at St. Michael High School.

The pilgrims departed the capital after the march and returned to Baton Rouge on Jan. 25.

The youth were powerfully impacted through their experiences on the trip, according to Emily Froeba, coordinator for the Baton Rouge pilgrimage and director of campus ministry at St. Michael High School in Baton Rouge.

“It is an honor for St. Michael to be able to coordinate this pilgrimage to D.C. for the youth of our diocese. It is humbling to see how God uses this experience to transform the lives of these young people. 

“Growth in prayer, desire for holiness, holy friendships, massive conversions, openness to religious life and priesthood, as well as several students who enter the OCIA process are just some of the fruits of this trip that makes the effort more than worthwhile. God has blessed and used the St. Michael March for Life Pilgrimage in amazing ways,” Froeba said.

Jared Cavalier, SMHS principal said, “As I watched students from across the Diocese of Baton Rouge take part in the St. Michael March for Life Pilgrimage, I saw them embrace a week of prayer, sacrifice, and community. They formed lasting bonds, deepened their relationship with God, and were inspired by the witness of priests, seminarians, deacons, and religious sisters. It was both joyful and exhausting, but most importantly, I witnessed them growing into strong leaders in the faith.”

The march motivated the participants to become more involved with their faith and the community now that they have returned home.

SMHS senior Connor Cornett said, “The March for Life is a great and transformative experience. I really enjoyed the march because it helped me grow in my faith, grow closer to my friends, and gain new friends. It helped me learn more about the pro-life movement and the importance of every human life.”

“The march is so spiritually impactful. It changes a person so much that they become someone new and better when they return, as if reborn through faith in Christ,” said Lizzie Cambre, a SMHS sophomore

Emma Lacinak, also a sophomore at SMHS, agreed.

“The march has changed my life and has given me a new outlook on life. It has opened me up to the need for prayer and sacrifice with the problems that face our generation,” said Lacinak.