Light drizzle and spitting snow that fell during the rally had stopped by the start of the march. Marchers from Maryville included Wayne Baker, Gabbie Meisner (from Ss. Peter and Paul, Collinsville), Mike Unnerstall (partially hidden) Vicky Viviano (in far back), Colleen Unnerstall and Jacob Wildhaber.

"The crowd just keeps getting larger" is Becky Bauerle's description of this, her 17th year as a participant at the March for Life in Washington, D.C.

Bauerle is a youth minister at Mother of Perpetual Help, Maryville, and at Mother of Dolors, Vandalia. The groups she led were part of the 281 people who traveled in a caravan of buses organized through the diocesan Office for Youth Ministry.

"Catholic colleges were very much in evidence at the march this year. We saw their banners everywhere," said Bauerle.

Routt Catholic High School in Jacksonville has had students go to the march with the diocesan group for a number of years. But this year Routt had so many students going to the march it had its own bus, said Bauerle. "I think Routt should challenge the other Catholic high schools in the diocese to see how many students they might get to participate in the March for Life. If we can get these Catholic high schools on board, that just says volumes about our commitment."

Kyle Holtgrave, in his first year as diocesan director of youth ministry, was pleased with how smoothly the trip went. "This was my third March for Life. It looked like an ocean of people when you looked out at the marchers," Holtgrave said.

With an extra day figured in for the trip because of the Martin Luther King holiday, the diocesan group visited Philadelphia's Independence Park on Sunday, where they saw the Liberty Bell. "When you think about the birth of our country and the reason we wanted to start a new society - and talk about freedom, and not being oppressed - it ties in. Abortion is not a constitutional right. Women deserve better than the abortion industry promises," Holtgrave said.

Bishop George Lucas joined young people from the Springfield diocese, together with their youth ministers and chaperones to walk in the March for Life.

The group also visited the shrine of St. John Neumann, where they attended the 3:30 p.m. Mass on Sunday at St. Peter the Apostle Church.

Father Tom Meyer of Edwardsville, who was a member of the group, was a concelebrant at the Mass, and Deacon Kevin Muniz, another member of the group, assisted at the liturgy. At the end of Mass, everyone went up individually to venerate a relic of St. John Neumann.

An eighth-grader from Jerseyville, whose is undergoing health issues and was in a wheelchair, made the journey to the march specifically to visit the shrine of the American saint. He was one of 49 from Jerseyville who made the trip. "All the eighth-grade kids from Jerseyville were ecstatic that their classmate got to that shrine," said Bauerle. "It was a great witness of faith for all of us to see Zack be able to pray there."

Bishop George Lucas celebrated Mass for the Illinois group at a church in downtown Washington, D.C., on the morning of the march. "Bishop Lucas gave us a very personal message at that Mass. The night before at the Vigil Mass, Cardinal (Justin) Rigali gave us a universal message," said Bauerle.

Bishop Lucas joined the group to march with them to the Supreme Court. "Last year the march was over between 3 and 3:15 p.m. This year I brought up the rear end of the march, and I didn't get to the Supreme Court until 10 minutes after 4, and there were still people coming after me," she said.