Jan 20, 2026 / 13:37 pm
Thousands will gather for the 53rd National March for Life in the nation’s capital on Friday, Jan. 23.
Every January, tens of thousands of people march on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., for “the largest annual human rights demonstration in the world,” according to the March for Life website. The event’s 2026 theme is “Life Is a Gift,” which invites “all people to rediscover the beauty, goodness, and joy of life itself.”
The theme emphasizes “what lies at the heart of the pro-life movement — an unshakeable conviction that life is very good and worthy of protection, no matter the circumstances,” according to the event’s website. “‘Life Is a Gift’ invites everyone to embrace life as something to be cherished and celebrated from the very beginning.”
The first March for Life was on Jan. 22, 1974, in Washington, D.C. It took place one year after the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision legalized abortion nationwide. While the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision returned the matter to the states in 2022, the organization continues its mission to protect life at the state and federal levels.
“The March for Life is not just a protest … It is a celebration of each and every life, from the moment of conception,” organizers of the event reported. “We envision a world where every life is celebrated, valued, and protected. We envision a world where these moments are celebrated, valued, and protected by everybody — both in the private sector and in the public sphere.”
Schedule
The day is more than just the walk on Capitol Hill; it offers numerous other opportunities to celebrate life.
The festivities will kick off with a pre-rally concert at 11 a.m. on the National Mall by Sanctus Real, a Grammy-nominated and Dove Award-winning Christian band.
Then the rally will kick off at noon and will feature a number of special guests including a national anthem performance by Friends of Club 21 Choir, a chorus of young adults with Down syndrome, and a lineup of speakers.
The crowd will depart from the National Mall at 1 p.m. for the march and will make its way to the ending point at the Supreme Court building.
Speakers
The leaders set to speak at the rally include a number of pro-life advocates who will share testimonials and encouragement ahead of the march.
JD Vance will speak for the second time at the annual event as vice president of the United States. He will be joined by other U.S. leaders including Speaker of the House Mike Johnson and U.S. Rep. Chris Smith, R-New Jersey.
Jennie Bradley Lichter, March for Life president, will address the crowd at her first march as president. Lichter has served as deputy general counsel at The Catholic University of America and in the White House during the first Trump administration.
Sarah Hurm will share her testimony about how the experience of starting a chemical abortion and reversing it changed her perspective and led her to pro-life advocacy.
Elizabeth Pillsbury Oliver, president of Georgetown University Right to Life and a Catholic convert, will offer a pro-life student’s perspective and about how her faith gives her courage to defend life.
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Other pro-life leaders and ministry workers from across the nation will also take the stage at the National Mall ahead of the march.
Additional events
The March for Life is just one of the ways pro-lifers can celebrate life the weekend of Jan. 23.
The National Prayer Vigil for Life:
The weekend will start with The National Prayer Vigil for Life, which is hosted annually by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. The vigil takes place on the eve of the March for Life, marking the date of the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision.
The National Prayer Vigil for Life will begin on Jan. 22 with an opening Mass at 5 p.m. in the Great Upper Church of the basilica. Following Mass, the National Holy Hour for Life will be at 7 p.m. in the Crypt Church. The National Prayer Vigil will conclude with a closing Mass celebrated by Cardinal Seán P. O’Malley, OFM Cap, archbishop emeritus of Boston, at 8 a.m. on Jan. 23 in the Great Upper Church.
Overnight seminarian-led Holy Hours will also take place from 9 p.m. on Jan. 22 until 8 a.m. on Jan. 23.
Life Fest
The Knights of Columbus and Sisters of Life will host Life Fest at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in Oxon Hill, Maryland. Doors open at 6 a.m. on the morning of Friday, Jan. 23, before the march. Life Fest will kick off with live music from the Sisters of Life’s band All the Living, with Father Isaiah, CFR, Damascus Worship, followed by a Eucharistic procession and Mass.
The event will also include opportunities for confession, first-class relic veneration, and powerful witnesses, including pro-life advocate and founder of Live Action Lila Rose.
Cardinal O’Connor Conference:
Named in honor of Cardinal John O’Connor, who committed himself to advocate for the unborn, the annual Cardinal O’Connor Conference on Life works to promote intellectual “discourse on the sanctity of human life as well as build a culture of life both within and beyond the Georgetown community,” the conference’s website reported.
Started by Georgetown students in 2000, the conference has become the largest student-run, pro-life conference in the U.S. The Jan. 24 conference will feature a Holy Hour, a number of speakers, breakout sessions, a panel discussion, and a Mass for life.
