"This year's event was special"
For the past two decades, Sacramento area pro-life Catholics have annually observed the Feast Day of the Holy Innocents, Dec. 28, in a special way. Starting in the evening with a candlelit procession beginning at the plaza in front of the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament in downtown Sacramento, from 50 to 200 Catholics have processed to the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe Church about a mile away while praying the Rosary and singing hymns. At Our Lady of Guadalupe Church a special Mass is celebrated for the Feast of the Holy Innocents and to pray for an end to abortion in our society.
The marchers – young and old – brave whatever dark winter weather is occurring – often rain and wind at this time of the year in Sacramento. Fortunately this year's weather was cold, but no rain or wind. 
This year's event was a special one in that Sacramento Bishop Jaime Soto led the procession and Rosary, as well as celebrated the Mass of the Holy Innocents at Our Lady of Guadalupe and gave the homily. Msgr. Edward Kavanagh, renowned in the area for his pro-life activism, has usually led processions for this event in the past. Msgr. Kavanagh was not able to participate this year so Catholics were especially pleased that Bishop Soto led the procession and celebrated the Mass.
Bishop Soto's strong voice leading the Rosary was easily followed by the 200 Catholics in the procession. Fr. Patrick Lee, another Sacramento pro-life activist, shared in leading the Rosary, which was finished in front of the beautiful 20-foot tall mosaic of Our Lady of Guadalupe on the front wall of the Church dedicated to her, patroness of the Americas and unborn children.
Leading the procession were two baby coffins on biers, each carried by two pallbearers. One coffin was boys and the other girls, with a Rosary and cross atop each coffin. These baby coffins have been in the Holy Innocents march for many years, and represent the millions of modern day innocents slaughtered through abortion.
Behind the blue and pink coffins came an honor guard of Knights of Columbus followed by Bishop Soto, several priests and about 200 Catholic lay people, including many children walking and riding in strollers. As usual, many parishioners of St. Stephen the Martyr Church, the traditional Latin Mass parish in Sacramento, participated in the procession.
The procession wended it way through downtown Sacramento, past the Capitol building, where the first California abortion-legalizing law -- the Beilenson Act -- was signed in 1967 by then-Gov. Ronald Reagan.
It then passed by the State Supreme Court Building. The California Supreme Court under Chief Justice Rose Bird required that all California taxpayers, including Catholic bishops and lay people, would have to be fiscal accomplices in virtually unrestricted Medi-Cal payments for around 100,000 abortions per year. Later, led by current Chief Justice Ronald George, the state's highest court in 1997 permanently blocked California's parental notification law so that only an initiative constitutional amendment can protect hundreds of thousands of young girls from secret abortions.
The procession passed down the Capital Mall by the former federal courthouse, which is a symbol of the 1973 Roe v Wade and several subsequent pro-abortion decrees by the U.S. Supreme Court.
The procession turned south on 7th Street, where it passed the state office buildings that house the California Department of Heath and the Office of Family Planning, which has provided tens of millions of taxpayers' funds for abortion centers such as Planned Parenthood to profit through the murder of innocent pre-born children.
The Mass -- in Spanish and English -- was attended by well over 200 people, including many from the procession and others who were there for the Mass itself, including many families with young children and infants. Many of those attending were Latino parishioners of Our Lady of Guadalupe, which is led by Fr. Lino Otero, and other Legionnaire of Christ priests.
Along with Bishop Soto, there were four other priests: Fr. Otero; Fr. Lee, Fr. Stanley; and Fr. Glen. They were ably assisted by a number of altar boys.
A full choir was in the church's loft providing Christmas music before and during the Mass. Bishop Soto especially thanked the choir for their beautiful Gregorian chant with unique guitar accompaniment.
