JUNIOR HIGH Canoe Trip will not be held this summer.  I apologize for the cancellation.  My being sick and at World Youth Day consumed the time available for the event.  Those who have already paid will be reimbursed.  I was looking forward to the trip as much as anyone.  Once again, I am sorry for this disappointing development but am anxious for other events with the Junior High.

Michael Armour

Thank you all for the prayers and financial support of our fundraisers. The March for Life went great. We had 28 youth from Holy Name and St. Mary's as well as 13 from Ark City. For many of the kids, it was their second or third time attending the event.

We left for Washington D.C. after Bishop Jackels celebrated Mass at the Cathedral for all those participating in this year's march. After a 27 hour bus ride, we arrived in our nation’s capital Saturday night. The bishop himself also traveled via bus to participate in this year’s activities. We spent Sunday visiting museums, monuments, and other points of interests downtown until the evening Mass with diocese. There were approximately 650 pilgrims from the Wichita Diocese that traveled to the march and many more from Wichita State and Benedictine; much larger than most other dioceses. On Monday, we had Mass in the crypt of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. Afterwards, we took a moment to view the impressive church and then spent the afternoon seeing more of the capital.

Tuesday was the big day. We rose at 5:00am, packed the bus, and went to the Youth Mass downtown. In attendance were 26,000 youth, hundreds of seminarians, hundreds of priests, and dozens of bishops, including 3 cardinals and the papal nuncio. We then marched to the National Mall in front of the Capitol Building and from there to the Supreme Court. Participating in the march were hundreds of thousands of supporters who showed their opposition to abortion. Their and our presence was a strong witness of the dissension to the horrible genocide going on in our country. After these hours spent marching, we were a little tired and got onto the bus and headed back to Winfield.