3rd Munich March for Life on March 25th, 2023

God set the date for the 3rd Munich March for Life: March 25, the day of the annunciation of Our Lord Jesus Christ  to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the day of unborn life. And what a day it was indeed!

After its premier in 2021 with 850 participants amidst severe restrictions levied by the Bavarian Government because of their battle against the Coronavirus –social distance requirements, masks, limited number of participants– and 2,000 people attending the following year, the March of 2023 was the first one without any restrictions.

Thus, the atmosphere was relaxed and lively with many young people, families and priests attending, 4,000 in total making it the largest pro-life event in Munich’s history. On the minute when the March was to begin, the sun came out and the joyous parade set out under a picturesque white-blue sky to the streets of Munich filling the historic Ludwigstraße built by King Louis I. of Bavaria in the 19th century.

Before that, two of the best pro-life speakers had addressed the crowd: Kristijan Aufiero, the initiator and founder of the largest crisis pregnancy-counseling service Projekt 1000plus, called the participants to build on the culture of life and become “lifefluencers”. Matt Britton, General Counsel of 40 Days for Life, exhorted everyone to fight for life – because “there are no human rights without humans”, and brought this special American spirit to Bavaria.

Therefore, the organizers of the Munich March are very thankful to Matt Britton that he came the long way from the US to address pro-lifers in Germany.

Germany is currently indeed a battlefield for the pro-life cause: although Germany on paper still has quite strict anti-abortion laws – abortion is always illegal, but is not penalized under certain circumstances (waiting period, required counseling before the procedure), the German Government has set up a commission that is supposed to find ways to legalize abortion in Germany. Furthermore, they also would like to implement “buffer zones” around abortion facilities to prevent 40 Days for Life and similar campaigns from happening.

Just days after the March, the newest abortion numbers were presented in Germany, marking a record high with 104.000 in 2022, an increase by almost 10% and the highest number since 2012, although there are less and less women in Germany who are still in childbearing age.

Therefore, instead of legalizing abortion, the German Government and actually every German should be actively engaging in helping women choose life and not criminalize those who do.

Unfortunately, the pro life cause is not very popular in Germany. Many people do not even seem to care, which is extremely sad. Who would be neutral on the mass killing of little children?

Thus, participants in the 40 Days for Life campaigns in Germany are to 90% Croatians with only very few Germans that join in prayer. It is thus even more surprising and delightful that 4,000 people –and in the majority youngsters– attended the Munich March for Life. They are the salt of the Earth and the light of the world to progress the pro-life cause and the culture of life in Germany.