SCRANTON – Just hours before the annual March for Life is expected to take place in Washington, D.C., the faithful of the Diocese of Scranton will join together for a Mass for Life at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 19, 2023, at the Cathedral of Saint Peter in Scranton.
The Most Reverend Joseph C. Bambera, Bishop of Scranton, will serve as principal celebrant and homilist at the Mass, which is being celebrated for a greater respect of all human life, from conception to natural death, and every moment in between.
Even with Roe v. Wade being overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2022, which allows more freedom at the state level to enact pro-life laws, the necessary work to build a culture of life in the United States is not finished. Sadly, the number of abortions annually is still well over 900,000 each year, and that number is only expected to decrease by roughly 200,000 each year in a post-Roe America.
While some pro-life supporters from parishes and organizations in the Diocese of Scranton will be joining the March for Life in Washington on Friday, others are expected to attend Thursday’s Mass as a way to pray that every life is celebrated, valued and protected.
People attending the Vigil Mass for Life are encouraged to bring a new pack of diapers to be donated to either Saint Joseph’s Center Baby and Children’s Pantry or Shepherd’s Maternity House, a facility in East Stroudsburg run by Catholic Social Services that provides educational, emotional and material support to expectant mothers.
