News

Image

BARRY'S BAY, ON, July 26, 2013 (LifeSiteNews.com) – LifeSiteNews caught up with the Canada Crossroads walkers on Thursday as they passed through Barry’s Bay, Ontario. The group of 10 are visiting the source of most of their members – Our Lady Seat of Wisdom Academy – a small Catholic college that, while boasting only 60 students, has nevertheless accounted for the lion’s share of the youth who take up the challenge to trek across the nation to promote pro-life.

Image

Commencing on May 20 in Vancouver, the long trek is nearing its completion with a few spots left to hit, including Toronto and Montreal, before their wrap-up on August 10 in Ottawa.

Walk leader Ian Gallagher told LifeSiteNews.com about some of the strange and wonderful highlights of the 2013 walk, saying the most awesome experience is “the love that we’ve received from everyone we meet on the road. It’s incredible.”

“From our host families on the weekend, to the parishes, to people who are on the road, they are driving and they stop and give us money or water or food, ” he said.

However, it has not been all fun and games. A couple of weeks ago, the group’s RV got stuck on a road’s soft shoulder which had softened due to heavy rain.

Who came the rescue, but Bishop Elvis Priestly? As Gallagher said:

As we were waiting for the tow truck a van comes up behind us and out gets a man who had a Roman collar on. I thought he was a priest, then I see that he has a purple shirt, so he’s a bishop. He comes up to us and says. “Hi, I’m the only Elvis impersonator in the world that is also an Anglican Archbishop.” And [while] he was there with us, we got a picture with him and got his albums, and he was really pro-life and wants to help us out.

Their toughest time though was in Edmonton. A short note on the group’s Facebook page on June 8 posted via mobile gives the background: “We're feeling the spiritual resistance in Edmonton. Please pray for us!”

Gallagher explain that as they were preparing to pray outside the Women’s Health Options abortion centre in Edmonton, “My GPS died, my phone stopped working, the RV overheated, I got lost, and we ran into the gay pride parade.”

Click “like” if you are PRO-LIFE!

“Everything all at once – I think that was the devil right there,” he said. “We just ran into a brick wall. We got there late, I didn’t know if we were going to have time to pray there.”

The group was able to pray for some time before attending a number of local Masses on the weekends to share what they are doing with the faithful, to ask for their support, and to offer encouragement to live out the culture of life.

“After Mass everything started to work again,” Gallagher related. “My phone just resurrected…It was black and white.”

For Gallagher and many of the Crossroads walkers over the years, Our Lady Seat of Wisdom Academy is their alma mater. The reason why this small college has such an impact is clear for Gallagher. “This place changes lives always in a good way…it feels like home to us,” he says.

“Because of the Catholic culture” they experience in the school “for three years, the seeds are planted to do God’s will. And a huge part of God’s will especially at this time is to promote a culture of life.”

Gallagher concluded, “I think it’s the greatest battle of our time right now.”