Champions of Love

Jan. 28, 2026

Before participating in the March for Life, thousands of young people rallied with prayer and music at Life Fest

By Cecilia Engbert

Jan. 28, 2026

Father Isaiah and Sisters of Life band perform at Life Fest — Father Isaiah of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, popularly known as Brother Isaiah, performs with the Sisters of Life band, All the Living, during Life Fest in Oxon Hill, Md., Jan. 23. (Photo by Matthew Barrick)

As many areas of the northeastern United States braced for a powerful winter storm that hit last weekend, tens of thousands of pro-life demonstrators were not deterred from traveling to Washington, D.C., to participate in the annual March for Life on Jan. 23.

Before assembling on the National Mall in peaceful protest, more than 2,000 young people gathered for Life Fest — a joyful pro-life rally and celebration held at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in Oxon Hill, Maryland, just outside the capital.

The event, cosponsored by the Knights of Columbus and the Sisters of Life, featured live musical performances, dynamic speakers, Eucharistic adoration, and Mass celebrated by Supreme Chaplain Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore. Attendees represented areas across the United States, as well as four other countries.

“Being here at Life Fest, surrounded by thousands of young people who are here to celebrate life, gives me a tremendous amount of hope for the future of the pro-life movement and the future of our country,” said Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly, who was in attendance. “Life Fest is a culture-shaping event that forms these young people in really important ways for the future — and really for the rest of their lives.”

As the first participants began to arrive at 6 a.m. Friday, Father Isaiah and the Sisters of Life band, All the Living, energized the crowd with several musical performances. Sister Mary Hostia Josephine and Sister Cora Caeli of the Sisters of Life served as emcees, sharing testimonies of healing and hope drawn from their community’s experiences accompanying women in crisis.

Daniel and Michelle Schachle, accompanied by their youngest son, Mikey, share their pro-life testimony at Life Fest. — Daniel Schachle, past grand knight of St. Mary’s Mission Council 8083 in Savannah, Tenn., and a Knights of Columbus general agent, stands on stage with his wife, Michelle, and son Mikey at Life Fest in Oxon Hill, Md., Jan. 23. (Photo by Paul Haring)

“We are really gearing up to be incredible witnesses of life today, and being pro-life is about building a culture of life together,” said Sister Cora Caeli to those gathered. “To be pro-life is about seeing the world in a totally new way. It’s about seeing that every human life has value and meaning.”

Participants also heard from a lineup of speakers and performers that included Damascus Worship and Lila Rose, founder of Live Action.

“As Catholics … we, more than anyone else, can be champions of love,” Rose reminded participants. “When we go out and march today in Washington, D.C., when we stand strong, courageously, boldly, we are doing it as Catholics. … We are going out there to show people the model of how to advocate for life, how to advocate against evil, but to do it with love.”

The event included opportunities for confession and the veneration of several relics — those of St. John Paul II; St. Carlo Acutis; St. Teresa of Calcutta; Blessed Michael McGivney; and the Ulma family, who were martyred by Nazi German police in Markowa, Poland, in 1944 and beatified in 2023. Throughout the event, Fourth Degree Knights provided an honor guard beside the relics.

Among those who offered a pro-life witness during Life Fest were Daniel and Michelle Schachle, whose 10-year-old son Mikey was miraculously healed from a life-threatening condition in utero. Mikey’s cure, attributed to the intercession of Blessed Michael McGivney, was declared a miracle and led to Father McGivney’s beatification in 2020.

“With Mikey, according to the experts, my wife and I were trapped in a bad situation,” explained Daniel. “They said they knew what we believed about abortion as Catholics, but this really wasn’t an abortion because there was no hope.”

But Daniel and Michelle, already parents of 12 children before Mikey’s birth, abounded in hope.

Life Fest participants venerate relics of Blessed Michael McGivney and the Ulma family. — Life Fest participants venerate relics of Blessed Michael McGivney, founder of the Knights of Columbus, and the Ulma family, who were martyred in Poland in 1944 and beatified in 2023. (Photo by Paul Haring)

“I asked for Father McGivney to pray for Michael, but I also asked not for my will, but for God’s will to be done,” Daniel said. “The grace we were given to trust God’s plan allowed the gift of new life — and the gift of a miracle through the prayers of Blessed Michael McGivney.”

Another testimony came from Kerri, one of the many women who has benefited from the Sisters of Life Hope and Healing Mission, which serves women seeking healing after abortion.

Now a mother of six, Kerri shared how she struggled to overcome the pain and shame that followed her abortion at age 26. It was through the merciful accompaniment she received from the Sisters of Life, family members and friends that she found peace and forgiveness.

“Being with the sisters and others along the journey has helped me to know that I’m not alone and how much God loves me,” Kerri said. “Their love and kindness and compassion has helped me to feel safe — safe and strong enough to open my heart to receive more of God’s grace and his healing mercy.”

Patrick Aselin, life director and past grand knight of St. Mary of the Assumption Council 110 in Brookline, Massachusetts, said hearing the testimonies at Life Fest was powerful preparation for the March for Life that followed.

“We have an opportunity to reflect on the meaning of life, the value of life, the consequences of Roe v. Wade and the effect of abortion on our culture today,” Aselin said. “Hearing from witnesses — from mothers who have chosen life, from the Sisters of Life themselves, from Lila Rose and her work in evangelizing the culture and building a culture of life — lets us, as we go to the March for Life, put ourselves into the mindset of what a culture of life looks like.”

Bishop Joseph Espaillat delivers the homily at Life Fest. — Bishop Joseph Espaillat, auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of New York and a brother Knight, delivers the homily during the Life Fest Mass at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in Oxon Hill, Md., Jan. 23. (Photo by Matthew Barrick)

To conclude Life Fest, Archbishop Lori celebrated Mass, assisted by more than 60 concelebrating priests. Bishop Joseph Espaillat, auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of New York and a Knight since his seminary days, delivered the homily. He emphasized the need for a consistent life ethic that upholds the dignity of every human person — including the unborn, the elderly and the marginalized.

“[The Church] says, in our times, ‘a special obligation binds us to make ourselves the neighbor of every person without exception,’” Bishop Espaillat said, referencing Gaudium et Spes (27), the Second Vatican Council’s pastoral constitution on the Church in the modern world. He shared the 21 offenses listed by the document that are “opposed to life itself” — including murder, genocide, abortion, euthanasia, and “whatever insults human dignity.”

“Being pro-life is not a one-sided issue,” Bishop Espaillat added. “If you’re pro-life, you just can’t say abortion. It’s all or nothing.”

He commended the thousands of young people for their decision to stand in support of life, emphasizing that “not making a decision is actually making a decision to do nothing.” He concluded, “We cannot simply keep standing by idly. ... We have been appointed to go and be the modern-day witnesses that the world needs.”

*****

CECILIA ENGBERT is a content producer for the Knights of Columbus Communications Department.

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