On Wednesday, March 23, Connecticut saw its first March for Life held on the steps of the State Capitol in Hartford. Organizers estimated there were about 3,000 marchers.

Among the speakers were Jeanne Mancini, president of the March for Life; Archbishop Leonard Blair of Hartford, evangelical archbishop Leroy Bailey; senior pastor at The First Cathedral in Bloomfield; Sister of Life Mariae Agnus Dei; Christopher Healy, executive director of the Connecticut Catholic Conference; Peter Wolfgang, executive director of the Family Institute of Connecticut; Lisa Maloney, president of the Connecticut Pregnancy Care Center Coalition, Christina Bennett of Live Action and State Rep. Lezlye Zupkus, R-Prospect.

“With the prospect that the battle against abortion will go to the state level, we need to focus our efforts all the more at the local level," Archbishop Blair told the National Catholic Register. "I am gratified to see so many people here today … and thankful for the chance to publicly stand up for life.”

Connecticut has historically been one of the nation’s most aggressively pro-abortion states, and pro-life advocates have struggled to make any meaningful changes to the law.

The night before the march, St. Mary’s Church in New Haven hosted a “Mass for Life."

Archbishop Blair celebrated the Mass in the recently renovated church that houses the tomb of Blessed Michael McGivney, founder of the Knights of Columbus. 

In his homily, Archbishop Blair noted Connecticut’s reputation as a state where anti-life legislation has contributed to a prevalent culture of death. “We find ourselves in a cloud of darkness and death,” he said, “but the bright light of God’s joy and mercy is always with us.” 

The archbishop described the prevalence of abortion in American society as a sign of “mercilessness.”

He emphasized that Catholics believe “life from conception until natural death is sacred to God, the author of life,” and that, “in the end, all will be accountable to him.” 

In the face of the evil of abortion, he said, the faithful feel “the righteous indignation of the Old and New Testament prophets,” and Jesus himself “promised harsh judgment to the unrepentant.”

In 2022, the March for Life’s state march program will hold five state marches: Connecticut, Virginia, California, Pennsylvania and Ohio. In 2023, that number will double to 10, then doubling again each year until all 50 states have an annual March for Life in their capital cities. 

FCC News Desk

Watch a full video program of the March: