Everyone is encouraged to participate in the Eighteenth Annual Respect Life March scheduled for Sunday, January 23 at noon.
A prayer service at St. Matthew Church in Tyrone will start the event, and then participants will walk the 1.25 miles to Oak Grove Cemetery to the grave of Baby Agnes Doe for another short prayer service.
Everyone is encouraged to bring a sign, and if participants are unable to walk this distance, feel free to join in by driving at the end of the procession.
A hot luncheon will be served in the parish hall after the march.
The event is sponsored by the St. Gregory Council No. 1218 Knights of Columbus.
“This event, although sponsored by the Knights of Columbus and St. Matthew Roman Catholic Church, is opened to all,” parishioner Peter Kreckel previously told The Daily Herald. “We encourage participation from all religious denominations. We all have been given the gift of life by our God, who is the only one who has the right to bring that life to an end.
“Whether it is an unborn child in his/her mother’s womb, a disabled child, or an elderly person in the twilight of his/her life, it is their God-given right to enjoy life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, the very building rocks with which this great nation was founded.”
Kreckel gave an in-depth background of why participants annually walk to the grave site of Baby Agnes Doe.
He said the remains of a female infant were discovered in an abandoned dump on Kerbaugh Road near Bellwood on February 5, 1987. After months of investigation, the remains of the baby were turned over to the Knights of Columbus.
A “Mass of the Angels” was celebrated on June 20, 1987, giving the child the dignified Christian burial that she deserved. She was then given the name Baby Agnes Doe, after Saint Agnes, the patron Saint of little girls.
Her remains were then buried in a plot of land set aside by St. Matthew Parish that would serve as a focal point for Pro-Life activities.
According to Kreckel, Father Strittmatter said of the burial, “This little girl lived only a few days, if only we could accomplish so much in a lifetime.”
Kreckel said, “Every January the Knights of Columbus sponsor the Respect Life March from St. Matthew Church to Oak Grove Cemetery to pay respect to Baby Agnes, and to reflect on the atrocities caused by our society’s lack of respect of human life at all stages.
“Although most Pro-Life people focus on the abortion issue, attention is drawn to respect life at all stages from conception to a natural death.”
According to Kreckel, there are a variety of reasons participants walk to the grave site every year.
“We all gather strength from each other in this movement,” said Kreckel. “We all need to take time to walk and reflect on what needs to be done to respect life.
“A lot of people are unable to make the trip to Washington D.C. on January 22, the Anniversary of Roe vs. Wade decision that legalized abortion in 1973. This is an opportunity for those to make a public statement that they are opposed to killing the unborn, but are unable to participate in the March for Life in Washington D.C.”
For more information, call Kreckel at 684-2898 or email him at pharmcanoe@aol.com.
