“I saw a few flurries before the rally started, but the sun was out and the temperature was in the upper 30s — really a pretty pleasant day,” said Holtgrave. “We had a good experience with the youth rally, and linked up with a group of 15 college students from the Newman Center at Eastern Illinois University led by Father John Titus, and others from the diocese at the diocesan Mass celebrated by Msgr. Carl Kemme, the diocesan administrator, the morning of the march.”

Father Tom Meyer, pastor at St. Mary in Edwardsville, was with the group of four busloads of youth and adults representating the southern half of the diocese at the march.

“The kids did a wonderful job witnessing the value of life during the Mass and at the march. The weather was fantastic for the trip. We got a little bit of rain up at Arlington Cemetery at the changing of the guard.

“The highlights of the trips were the Mass at the Shrine and the march,” Father Meyer said.  “We saw Archbishop George Lucas on the sidelines, the day of the march and he came up and said hello when he saw the Vandalia banner.”

Because of the distance from their hotel, the group was unable to make the diocesan Mass the morning of the march, but they did get to see the changing of the guard and the eternal flame burning at Arlington National Cemetery. Father Meyer celebrated Mass with the 232 youth in their group at 9 a.m. in their hotel.

After the march, their buses took them to New York City, where they took the Staten Island Ferry to the Statue of Liberty, and had a two hour open air tour of the city. Archbishop Timothy Dolan was  in Haiti at the funeral of Haiti’s Archbishop, so Father Meyer and Father Dan Willenborg celebrated the 4:30 p.m. Mass at St. Patrick for the group.