THE FIFTH ANNUAL ORANGE County Walk for Life drew approximately 1,200 participants on Sat., Oct. 4, at Christ Cathedral campus in Garden Grove.
Starting at 9 a.m., participants prayed an international Rosary in five languages before attending a trilingual Mass presided by Bishop Thanh Thai Nguyen. After Mass, the Knights of Columbus led a Eucharistic Procession around the cathedral’s campus. The event concluded with two keynote speakers, pro-life ministry networking, fellowship and food.
THE FIFTH ANNUAL ORANGE COUNTY WALK FOR LIFE WAS HELD ON OCT. 4 AT CHRIST CATHEDRAL CAMPUS IN GARDEN GROVE. PHOTOS BY IAN TRAN/DIOCESE OF ORANGE
Jeffry Rice, event chairman for the Knights of Columbus, explained how the Walk for Life began in 2021.
“It started with 50 people,” he shared. “The second year, it grew to 300. In the third year the bishop asked us to bring it to the cathedral to kick off the Pro-Life Month in October.”
This year marks the third time that the Christ Cathedral campus has hosted the walk.
The Orange County Walk for Life is distinctive among pro-life events in that it centers around a Eucharistic Procession.
Mike McGranahan, co-chair of the Walk for Life, added: “Jesus, in the real presence of the Eucharist, leads us in our faithful witness to the full spectrum of our support for a culture of life from conception to natural death.”
“As many great leaders of the Church both past and present have urged us to do, I believe that prayer is one of the faithful’s biggest tools to promote life and weapons to defend it,” said .
BISHOP THANH THAI NGUYEN AND THE KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS LEAD A EUCHARISTIC PROCESSION AROUND CHRIST CATHEDRAL CAMPUS.
He added, “The fact that the event concludes with the faithful breaking bread and visiting almost two dozen prolife and pro-family ministries throughout our diocese truly brings the family of our local Church together.”
Kathleen Domingo, executive director of the California Catholic Conference, was a featured speaker at the event.
“The Walk for Life in Orange County is different because it’s very community-based,” she said.
In her speech, Domingo emphasized the importance of local support provided by the family system.
“The domestic Church is the family,” she said. “You don’t often think of the doors of our home as being the doors of the domestic Church that can also welcome people in.”
Megan Morris, director of the Life Center of Santa Ana, also spoke during the event.
“People are here for the Lord,” she said, “and they’re here for the unborn.”
In her speech, Morris discussed the work accomplished by local initiatives.
“We have witnessed the Holy Spirit at work as the Life Center has grown virtue-based parenting programs for teen and young adult mothers and fathers.”
Bishop Nguyen delivered a powerful homily that underscored the importance of changing the perception of human life in modern culture.
“The young man and woman…deserve the truth, that they are called to be co-creators with the Author of life., he said. “They deserve better, the women who have just become pregnant, and men who are expecting their first child. The culture of death trains them to treat their unborn child as a dispensable commodity, a passing inconvenience… Children waiting to be born deserve better. They deserve laws that will recognize their inalienable right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”
Morris shared many inspirational stories about young families and children who have chosen life and flourished in the community. In one example, a young mother named Kelly was 20 weeks pregnant and “determined to have an abortion. Led by the Lord, she found the Life Center.
“A meal team from St. John the Baptist delivered her meals for two weeks after she had her baby,” explained Morris. “Today, she is parenting her one-year-old son and can’t imagine life without him. These stories show the life changing power of accompaniment and the difference that you, your parish and your prayers can make.”
At the resource fair, Kiana Robles represented Casa Teresa, a pregnancy resource center in Santa Ana, where she works as Marketing and Events manager.
“I’m here today,” she said, “because we want to bring awareness to the pregnant women that we’re serving.”
Diana Luperceio attended the walk for the first time with her friend.
“I was extremely excited to come,” she shared. “This is a great event with a great turnout, but I was a little saddened to see that we are some of the only people in our 20s here. I would want to see a lot more people our age, I hope to see more in the future.”
Rick Garrett, a pro-life author and speaker, explained what the event means to him.
“This is always a really fulfilling event, and it’s only gotten better as the years go on,” he said.
Bishop Nguyen told attendees that we all must pray for genuine respect for life at all levels.
“What we do is more than significant—it is essential,” said Bishop Nguyen. “Life is the issue of our day. Unless we respect life, beginning with the lives of the most innocent and defenseless among us, we will never successfully and adequately solve the many other life issues of our day.”