Official Website of the
Catholic Diocese of Little Rock
2015 Mass, March for Life set for Jan. 18
Published: January 5, 2015
Bishop Anthony B. Taylor will celebrate the Mass for Life at noon, Sunday, Jan. 18 at the Statehouse Convention Center Ballroom in downtown Little Rock. Prior to the Mass, eucharistic adoration will begin at 11 a.m. followed by the Rosary for Life at 11:15 a.m. Anyone who has lost a child is invited to sign the Book of Innocents in their memory. Red roses will be placed near the altar to honor these children and their families during Mass.
Each year, this Mass is celebrated to mark the anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton decisions that legalized abortion in the United States. The event is an opportunity for Catholics statewide to come together and pray for an end to abortion.
A prayer vigil will be held from 6:30 p.m. Jan. 17 to 8 a.m. Jan. 18 at the Cathedral of St. Andrew in the form of eucharistic adoration. Central Arkansas parishes have been assigned to pray at the Cathedral. See adoration schedule.
Following the Mass for Life, the 37th annual March for Life will begin at 2 p.m. The staging area for the march will be on West Capitol between Battery and Wolfe streets, behind the State Capitol. Marchers will split into two groups to circle around the capitol before joining back together on the Capitol steps where a brief program will be held to include prayer and talks from religious and community leaders.
Complimentary chili and hot dogs will be served following the march by the Knights of Columbus Council #6253 at 6253 Camp Robinson Rd. in North Little Rock. For more information about the Mass, contact the diocesan Respect Life Office at (501) 664-0340. To learn more about the march, contact the Arkansas Right to Life at (501) 663-4237.
On the national level, the anniversary of legalized abortion will be marked with the “9 Days for Life” novena, a period of prayer, penance and pilgrimage, which encourages solidarity in prayer for daily intentions, for couples experiencing infertility, those mourning the loss of a child through abortion, children in need of adoptive homes, and for an end to abortion and use of the death penalty. It will be held Jan. 17-25. To learn more, visit the website for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
