STEUBENVILLE, OH— Despite last year’s bitter cold, Molly Sheahan, president of Franciscan University of Steubenville’s Students for Life, described the annual March for Life as “electrifying,” and said, “There is nothing like it in the world.”

This year, Franciscan University will be represented by more than 800 students, faculty, staff, and alumni at the 2015 March for Life in Washington D.C., on January 22, the anniversary of the United States Supreme Court Decision that legalized abortion, Roe v. Wade.

“It’s crucial that Franciscan students attend the march,” said Sheahan, a junior from Sacramento, California, majoring in communication arts. “This is the largest pro-life event in the world where hundreds of thousands of people band together to say, ‘I am against abortion. I am against attacks on the dignity of the human person.'”

This year’s March for Life theme is “Every life is a gift.”

On Wednesday, January 21, Franciscan University students will attend a holy hour on campus from 10:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. in the Christ the King Chapel. The public is invited. The students will then leave at midnight in 10 busses and will arrive at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in time for 7:30 a.m. Mass. From there, they will go to National Mall to march beneath Franciscan’s iconic green banner that proclaims, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you… Before you were born, I dedicated you…” (Jer. 1:5). Leading the students will be the president of Franciscan University, Father Sean O. Sheridan, TOR.

The morning of the march, Bob Rice, a popular Catholic musician and catechetics professor at Franciscan University, will perform at the Youth Rally and Mass for Life at the Verizon Center. Donald Cardinal Wuerl of Washington, D.C., will serve as the main celebrant at the Mass.

Rice says, “I was shocked to find that in the United States, 70 percent of babies who are diagnosed with Down syndrome in the womb are aborted. We need to do more to show how every life is a gift from God, no matter their race, age, or ability. Abortion has deprived us of being blessed by these beautiful lives. I pray this generation will rise up and not only change the laws regarding abortion, but also change people’s hearts through their witness and their love.”

Sheahan said the best part of the trip is “knowing that you are not alone, that you can stand up against abortion, and ultimately that we will win.”