“People think we
created this event to teach teens to be pro-life. It is the other way around!
Each January, tens of thousands of teens come to DC to encourage our country to
have a greater respect for life…”–Kevin Bohli, Executive
Director, Office of
Youth, Campus and Young Adult Ministries, Catholic
Diocese of Arlington
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 17, 2018
FAIRFAX, Va. – More
than 7,000 people will pack the Eagle Bank Arena on the campus of George
Mason University in Fairfax, Va. Thursday, January 18 for the 10th
annual Life is VERY Good Rally. The Catholic Diocese of Arlington’s Office of
Youth, Campus and Young Adult Ministries sponsors the event, which attracts
teens from across the country to prepare prayerfully for the March for Life.
The event is a prelude to
the March for Life on Friday, January 19.
Here are the
details:
When: Thursday,
January 18, 2018, 7:30–10 p.m.
Where: Eagle
Bank Arena at George Mason University, 4500 Patriot
Circle, Fairfax
Kevin Bohli, Executive Director
of the Office of Youth, Campus and Young Adult Ministries, reminds us that it
was the pro-life teens who motivated the Diocese to offer the Life is VERY Good
event. He says, "People
think we created this event to teach teens to be pro-life. It is the other way
around! Each January, tens of thousands of teens were coming to DC to encourage
our country to have a greater respect for life, and we simply created a space
for them to pray about it!"
Meghan O’Malley, a parishioner at St. Timothy Catholic Church
in Chantilly, has attended Life is VERY Good multiple times. Now, she’s coming
back as a volunteer. “This Rally is such a great way
to prepare spiritually for the March for Life. I love the energy of an arena
packed with young people who are passionately Catholic and dedicated to the
pro-life movement," O’Malley said.
In a statement, the Most Reverend Michael F. Burbidge,
Bishop of the Diocese of Arlington, said, in part, “I look forward to seeing many of our youth at the
Eagle Bank Arena in Fairfax for our diocese’s Life Is VERY Good Evening of
Prayer (January 18, 7:30 p.m.) and Rally and Mass (January 19, 9 a.m.). The
annual March for Life rally begins on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., at
noon on January 19. The most public display of
the Gospel of Life is the annual March for Life. In advance, I thank all
of our parishes that are welcoming visitors from other dioceses and providing
hospitality to March for Life participants.”