Live updates from the 2024 March for Life

Washington D.C., Jan 19, 2024 / 10:15 am

The 51st annual March for Life kicks off today, Jan. 19, almost two years after the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 case that legalized abortion across the nation.

Follow along here for live updates on the march. All times are in U.S. Eastern Standard Time:

Jan. 19, 1:30 p.m.

As ever, marchers show up in droves with signs, displaying a vast number of creative, funny, sweet, heartfelt messages in support of unborn children and the right to life.

Even Frosty is pro-life!

Jan. 19, 1:15 p.m.

The March for Life begins after speeches from Benjamin Watson, Jean Marie Davis, Rep. Chris Smith, Aisha Taylor, Antonio De Mello, Greg Laurie, and more.

College students from Penn State University in State College, Pennsylvania, lead the march.

Jan. 19, noon

Thousands of pro-lifers from across the United States gather for the March for Life Rally.

A group of nine seventh graders from St. Michael School in Lowell, Massachusetts, say they are looking forward to seeing the large crowds that are gathering for the March for Life.

They are a part of a group of more than 500 pilgrims from the Archdiocese of Boston who traveled to Washington, D.C.

A group of 9 seventh graders from St. Michael School in Lowell, Massachusetts. Joe Bukuras/CNA

A marcher from Nigeria shares that the United States can "learn" how to "respect life" from her country where abortion is not legalized.

Jan. 19, 11 a.m.

The March for Life pre-rally concert kicks off on the National Mall. Danny Gokey, who was a finalist on the singing competition television show “American Idol,” performs.

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The crowd gathers at the rally before the 2024 March for Life in Washington, DC. Credit: EWTN News

Jan. 19, 8:50 a.m.

The first attendees arrive at the 51st annual March for Life despite the snow.

Jan. 19, 6 a.m.

The second annual Life Fest kicks off with musical group Damascus Worship hitting the stage at the D.C. Armory in our nation’s capital. Life Fest is hosted by the Sisters of Life and Knights of Columbus.

Speakers at Life Fest include Sister Pia Jude and Sister Luca Benedict — Sisters of Life who also happen to be twin sisters — Cardinal Sean O’Malley, Sarah Kroger, Monsignor James Shea, and more.

The relics of the Ulma family are also available for veneration at the event. Polish couple Jozef and Wiktoria and their seven children, including an unborn baby, were killed by Nazis for sheltering Jews. The family was beatified on Sept.10, 2023.

Jan. 18, 5 p.m.

Thousands of pilgrims from across the nation gather at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., for the opening Mass in the National Prayer Vigil for Life. The main celebrant of the Mass is Bishop Michael Burbidge of the nearby Arlington Diocese, head of the USCCB’s Pro-Life Activities Committee.

It was standing room only at the basilica as young people fill both the upper church and lower church as well as the side chapels.

At this year’s March for Life vigil Mass in Washington, D.C., Burbidge calls on those gathered in the packed basilica to “bring light to the darkest corners.”

“Like Jesus, it is not enough to reserve our message for those who will readily receive it and to pursue victories only in those places where we are likely to win. We must persist in those places where our message is rejected. We must bring light to the darkest corners,” he says.