By Christina Gray
They were a public display of youthful spirit and love for the lives of unborn children.
Dozens of Stella Maris Academy students marched through the streets of San Francisco in Catholic school uniforms and t-shirts on Sept. 5, asking passersby to “Remember the Unborn.”
The students, along with some teachers, parents and members of the local pro-life community, represented the West Coast leg of the 2025 LIFE Runners relay. LIFE Runners is a 44-day, 5,124-mile cross country pro-life event. Registered participants can either walk or run and are organized into nearly 1,500 individual 5k legs across America as well as in 50 other nations., The LIFE Runners event began this year in San Francisco. Legs in New York, North Dakota and Texas will launch throughout September, with the last of the legs converging at Benedictine College in Kansas on Oct. 25.
The route of the different legs form a cross, said Dr. Castle, founder of LIFE Runners.
“Participants all have that one thing in common,” he said. “Their faith is strong enough to bear witness for the least of the least who need us at this time. LIFE Runners are willing to wear that witness in public to impact hearts and minds to save lives.”
Dr. Castle was inspired to start the walk after a personal encounter with St. Padre Pio during a competitive run up Pike’s Peak in Colorado. He initially formed a small pro-life group of runners for the Chicago Marathon to raise money for ultrasound equipment. LIFE Runners was later reimagined as a global relay event dedicated to abortion-prevention awareness. This year, nearly 25,000 participants will traverse America and 50 other countries carrying their simple pro-life message.
On liferunners.org, Dr. Castle cites a survey of post-abortion women, 82 percent of whom reported that they may not have made a decision to end their pregnancies had they encountered even one encouraging person or “sign” beforehand.
On the morning of the West Coast launch, Dr. Castle led Stella Maris students in praying the LIFE Runner’s creed after a Mass at Star of the Sea Parish. One line in the creed reads: “We run for awareness so our culture will view all human life as a reflection of your glory, Lord.
Fifteen participants from the Stella Maris/West Coast contingent finished the entire 5K (2.6 mile) walk from Star of the Sea to the Planned Parenthood building on Bush Street. The group prayed the creed again at Planned Parenthood.
San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone is one of 30 Catholic bishops supporting LIFE Runners. He called the event “an outstanding witness to the dignity of motherhood and of every person.”
For more information about Life Runners, visit liferunners.org.
Photos by Karolina Zapolska
