On Friday, Franciscan University of Steubenville's Students for Life will head up the university's pilgrimage to the nation's capital for the 46th March for Life.
Eight buses with nearly 500 Franciscan University students will arrive in Washington, D.C., for the largest pro-life demonstration of the year.
The Franciscan contingent is completely student-led and organized, according to Dominique Cognetti, a student and social work major.
"The message we are witnessing this year is 'Unique From Day One,' and how science is on the side of life," Cognetti stated in a press release from the university. "As Catholics who are pro-life, we have an obligation to defend what we believe in.
"The March for Life is a great way to do that and to share our beliefs with our congressional representatives."
As they do each year, the Franciscan students will begin preparing for their trip today with a 10:30 p.m. Holy Hour. Buses then depart the university at midnight Friday, to arrive in Washington at approximately 6 a.m.
Students will attend Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception at 7:30 a.m. Hundreds more students, alumni, and other members of the Franciscan family will drive to D.C. and meet up with the students under the green Franciscan University banner on the National Mall for the noon rally and the march up Constitution Avenue to the Supreme Court and Capitol building, according to university officials.
Afterward, some Franciscan students will share their pro-life views with congressional leaders from their home states.