5000 to 7000 expected
LA archbishop to offer opening prayer at pro-life event this Sunday at Rose Bowl
Los Angeles Archbishop Jose Gomez is scheduled to give the opening prayer this coming Sunday at the first-ever Walk4Life outside the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.
“Archbishop Gomez has been very supportive,” said Carol Golbranson, one of the event’s organizers. She said the event has also received support from archdiocesan schools and parishes, as well as from Catholic groups like the Knights of Columbus.
Golbranson said that, based on responses from “hundreds of groups,” organizers are expecting between 5000 and 7000 people to show up.
The Walk4Life is sponsored by LIFEsocal, which, according to the organization’s website, “was formed by a group of high school and college students, who believe that from the moment of conception, all babies deserve LIFE (Life Is For Everyone).”
Speakers at the Walk4Life will include Live Action founder Lila Rose, the Rev. Walter Hoye, Southern California conservative writer and TV and radio commentator Carol Liebau, actress Karyme Lozano, and Jason Jones of I Am Whole Life.
“Our primary goal is to inform and motivate teens and young adults in Southern California to believe in LIFE, stand up for LIFE, and fight for LIFE, with the hope of ending abortion,” says the LIFEsocal website. “In connection with this mission, we have committed to hold our first major LIFEevent with the Right to Life League of Southern California. It will be held at the Rose Bowl, Sunday, March 27, 2011.”
“This event was suggested by the Junior Advisors of LIFEsocal with the goal of raising money for local pregnancy help centers and other pro-LIFE organizations,” says the LIFEsocal website. “Walk4LIFE will be followed by LIFEfest to be held on the Rose Bowl grass. LIFEfest will feature live music, information booths, food trucks and video entertainment.”
Check-in for the Walk4Life is scheduled from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., followed by opening with Archbishop Gomez’s prayer. The daylong event includes a “spirited 2.5-mile walk around the Rose Bowl,” then a “LifeFest” from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., with speakers, live music, food trucks, a KIDZONE, and action booths, according to the event’s website.
