January 21, 2011
Pilgrimage for Life 2011
6 buses from diocese heading to Washington, D.C., for Jan. 24 march
By MARY ANN HUGHES (Message staff writer)
Six buses, filled with over 300 people from all over the Diocese of Evansville, are heading to Washington, D.C., on Jan. 22 for the annual March for Life.
Joe Hardesty, pastoral associate at St. Ferdinand Church in Ferdinand, is coordinating the “Pilgrimage for Life 2011,” which will culminate at the Jan. 24 march which recalls the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion.
This is the thirty-eighth year for the march, which is held in defense of the rights of the unborn and to pray for the respect for all life from conception to natural death.
Before the pilgrims leave southern Indiana, they will celebrate Mass in the auditorium at Forest Park High School in Ferdinand.
Five priests from the diocese are among the travelers. They include Father Jack Durchholz, pastor at St. Ferdinand Church, Ferdinand, Father Zach Etienne, pastor at Good Shepherd Church, Evansville; Father Chris Forler, associate pastor at Christ the King Church, Evansville, Father Ryan Hilderbrand, associate pastor at St. John the Baptist and St. Vincent de Paul church, both in Vincennes, and Father Alex Zenthoefer, associate pastor at Holy Rosary Church, Evansville, chaplain at Memorial High School in Evansville, and diocesan director of Vocations.
Two seminarians, Jeff Read and Christopher Droste, and Benedictine Sister Teresa Gunter, youth minister at St. An-thony Church in Evansville, will also be traveling to the march.
During the bus trip, the group will be watching a 10-part DVD with comments from Bishop Gerald A. Gettelfinger on respect life issues. Each bus will have a chaplain who will lead prayers and discussions “utilizing the time we have on the buses,” Hardesty said.
This year’s trip, which is designated a “pilgrimage,” will concentrate “solely on prayer and Catholic social teaching on all stages of life.”
It’s also going to be a good way to “unite the four Catholic high schools in the diocese,” he said. Students are going from Mater Dei and Memorial high schools, both in Evansville, Rivet High School in Vincennes, and Washington Catholic High School in Washington.
He knows first hand how powerful the experience can be for young adults, and remembers his first time at the March for Life. At the time, he knew he was pro-life, but admits he was apathetic.
On the day of the march, he remembers looking around at all the participants who were from all faiths. Then he looked down, and saw a severely han-dicapped young man who was sitting in an electric wheelchair.
Hardesty instantly realized “this kid could have been aborted.” He watched as the young man leaped from his wheelchair and, helped by friends on either side of him, “he walked the whole way.”
As Hardesty watched the young man sling each foot in front of the other, he realized the young man “was glad his mom chose life.”
When Hardesty served as the director of youth ministry at St. John the Baptist Church in Newburgh, he accompanied many young parishioners to the march. And year after year he saw how they “got it — that life is precious, and everyone deserves a chance.”