The Ave Herald

Large Group from Ave Maria Heads to March for Life

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Published on Thursday, 24 January 2013 15:28

By bus and by plane, more than 200 people from Ave Maria are heading to Washington, D.C., for the annual March for Life on Friday, Jan. 25.

About 150 Ave Maria University students boarded a bus late Wednesday night for a 21-hour trip to the nation's capital, packing the warmest clothing they had for what were forecast to be cold and snowy weather conditions. They'll return to the campus early Sunday morning.

The bus departure was much smoother than last year, when an unscrupulous charter bus operator in Virginia, Charter Bus R Us, told student organizers at the last minute that they would not provide the buses that were contracted for, and did not return nearly $20,000 that had been paid in advance. Alternative buses were secured in a last-minute scramble. The money is being repaid gradually, according to William Kirk, AMU's Vice President for Student Affairs and General Counsel.

Forty-nine students from the Donahue Academy, plus a number of adult chaperones, left the school at 3 a.m. Thursday for a drive to the Fort Lauderdale airport and an early-morning flight to Washington. On Wednesday, the school had a send-off for the travelers, including praying for them and the pro-life cause. Left, rosary beads being handed out to students.

Many residents also planned to go independently to Washington for the march, and there also will be a sizeable group from the Ave Maria School of Law.

Below, Fr. Robert McTeigue, AMU director of campus ministry, blessing the students before they boarded the bus.