With fresh snow on the ground and gray skies overhead, about 300 cars filled the three parking lots of Carmel Catholic High School in Mundelein to participate in the March for Life Chicago’s Moving the Movement Tour on Jan. 17. It was the third-to-last stop in a very different March for Life Chicago in the age of COVID-19. People from all over the Midwest usually come to Illinois in January to participate in the March for Life Chicago, but because of COVID-19 restrictions organizers took the march to them, with stops in Omaha, Nebraska; Madison, Wisconsin; Fort Wayne and Indianapolis, Indiana; and Mundelein. The tour ends in downtown Chicago with a car procession on Jan. 23, starting at St. John Cantius Church, 825 N. Carpenter St. At each stop, people participated from their cars listening to speakers from a stage. Some of the stops included car processions around the towns following the rallies. Organizers also collected donations of diapers, which were then distributed to area crisis pregnancy centers. The goal is to collect 130,094 diapers, one for every of the 130,094 abortions in the Midwest last year. Participants at the Carmel Catholic rally donated 21,257 diapers and the total tour count as of Jan. 17 was 52,684 diapers. The regular March for Life Chicago, usually held in Federal Plaza in downtown Chicago with a march through the Loop after, is a high-energy event with music, drum lines and lots of cheering. The event at Carmel Catholic High School was more subdued, but people still showed appreciation for speakers by honking their horns throughout the event. Many people had pro-life signs they had received from organizers prior to the event with messages such as “I march for life” or “I love them both,” and several participants decorated their cars with hand-written pro-life messages. Organizers set up a stage on the front lawn of the school with speakers facing the parking lots. Participants could also tune into 88.1 FM to hear the presenters. The rally was livestreamed for those who weren’t able to attend in person. The Archdiocese of Chicago was one of the hosts for the Mundelein stop, where participants heard from local political officials, ecumenical faith leaders, mothers and young people in the pro-life movement. In his remarks to the gathering, Cardinal Cupich reminded participants that they gathered under the theme of “Life Unites.” “It is important for us to keep that in mind in this moment of division in society, division sometimes even in our church,” the cardinal said. “We should celebrate the fact that so much has been accomplished. We have so many young people involved in this right-to-life movement and that is a promise for future generations.” He also referenced hope on the legal front. “We also know that in the past couple of years we have seen some movement in the courts so that there will be the possibility that the lives of the unborn will be legally protected,” he said. “That is so very important and we need to continue to press forward with that.” At the same time, the fight has to be about winning over the hearts and minds of family members and people in our communities, Cardinal Cupich said. “For there are people who want to protect life at different stages but not the unborn,” he said. “We need to engage them in a conversation in a way that makes sure the unborn are protected, not just by laws but the hearts and minds of our citizens.” The cardinal mentioned Pope Francis and his recent encyclical, “Fratelli Tutti,” saying that it reminds us we are all brothers and sisters. “So let us approach this life issue, engage one another as brothers and sisters in a way that promotes unity among ourselves so that we can make the argument that the unborn should have a place in the human family too, so that they also have their rights protected and at the same time link that with all of the other life issues that are important to each one of us,” he said. Those issues include helping the poor, eradicating racism, ending capital punishment and protecting the environment, Cardinal Cupich said. Another speaker was Melissa Villalobos, a local mother of seven whose miraculous cure through the intercession of Cardinal John Henry Newman led to his canonization in 2019. She shared the story of her healing and encouraged participants to pray to Cardinal Newman. During her pregnancy with her fifth child, Gemma, the placenta had become partially detached from the uterine wall and Villalobos was bleeding and ordered on complete bed rest, something difficult to do with four young children at home and a husband with a full-time job. On the morning of May 15, 2013, Villalobos woke up in a pool of blood. She was home alone with her children because her husband was on a business trip. After getting her children set up with breakfast, she locked herself in the upstairs bathroom and collapsed on the floor from the excessive bleeding. She wanted to call 911, but her cellphone was downstairs and the force of yelling for the children would cause more damage and bleeding. With thoughts of losing her unborn baby, worry for her children downstairs and wondering if she could die, Villalobos uttered her fateful prayer. She said “Please, Cardinal Newman, make the bleeding stop.” Immediately the bleeding stopped and a trip to the doctor that afternoon showed the baby was healthy and normal and her placenta had healed. “I want you to know that you too can call upon Cardinal Newman to help babies and pregnant mothers. He may be thought of as a pro-life saint and as a patron saint of pregnant women,” Villalobos said. “It only makes sense that a man as incredibly brilliant and holy as Cardinal Newman would work so hard to protect the sanctity and dignity of human life. He knows that every life is a precious gift from God.” Sisters Bernadette Rowe and Debbie Johnson travelled from Antioch to participate in the event. Johnson has participated in eight other marches, including the national one in Washington, D.C. “We were raised with the foundation of every life matters from conception until death. It’s God’s decision, it’s God’s will. It’s not ours,” she said. Events like the March for Life Chicago raise awareness of pro-life issues in people of every age, Rowe said. “It maybe opens their hearts and their minds to the babies who have no voice,” she said. “People need to be out there speaking and helping them to have a voice. Every child is unique and should have the opportunity to have their life shine and sing. God knew them before they were born, and they deserve that chance to shine.”
Pro-life supporters gather for annual March for Life Chicago Pro-life supporters from Illinois and across the Midwest gathered on Federal Plaza Jan. 8 to rally, listen to speakers and participate in March for Life Chicago, a procession down Michigan Avenue to the Chicago Hilton, and 720 S. Michigan Ave.
During pandemic, March for Life Chicago goes on tour People from all over the Midwest usually come to Illinois to participate in the March for Life Chicago, something they can’t do this January because of COVID-19 restrictions.
Thousands take part in annual March for Life Chicago Despite high winds, freezing precipitation and cold temperatures, thousands turned out for the seventh annual March for Life Chicago, which kicked off in Daley Plaza Jan. 11.