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NATCHEZ — Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves shared a special thank you to Cathedral Catholic School students of Natchez earlier this week, thanking them for their continuing support of the Pro-Life movement.

In a video posted to the school’s page, Reeves said to Cathedral Catholic School students, “Father (Aaron) Williams was kind enough to share some information about what you’re doing to protect life in our state, and I wanted to thank each of you for the great work you’re doing.”

More to this story follows the video below.

The school shared that Reeve’s message game in light of the cancellation of Cathedral’s annual pilgrimage to Washington, D.C. for March for Life, a national rally that took place on Jan. 24.

For over 50 years, on the anniversary of the Supreme Court’s ruling in Roe v. Wade, thousands of people have rallied in the United States capital in support of the Pro-Life movement and called for the overturning of the Roe v. Wade decision, which legalized abortions in all 50 states up to the point fetal viability.

Three years ago, with Mississippi leaders and in particular Thomas E. Dobbs who was then the state health officer with the Mississippi State Department of Health at the forefront, Roe v. Wade was reversed and abortion legislation was returned to states.

This did not stop March for Life from continuing each year and did not stop Cathedral students from participating.

Cathedral School teacher JoAnn Waycaster said 41 students had planned to go, but their flight had been canceled at the last minute and they were unable to get a new flight.

“That was the week that the weather was all crazy,” Waycaster said. “We were supposed to fly on Wednesday and the flight was canceled on Monday. We weren’t able to rebook everyone to get them there in a timely fashion and the kids were devastated. We had a few seniors who had gone before in the eight years that we’ve gone but for most, it would have been their first time going. This has happened to us before but with a smaller group and we were able to get a new flight, but this would’ve been the largest group we have ever taken.”

Waycaster said Cathedral continues to support Pro-Life because not all states carry the same laws.

“Since Roe. V. Wade was overturned it did not end abortion by any means. It just returned the decision back to the states,” she said. “We want to see a world where there is no abortion at all. That’s why we continue to march and that’s why they continue to have the rally at the capital. It’s no longer the law of the land but it’s certainly still a law in many states.”

In his message to Cathedral, Reeves said Mississippi remains focused on a “new pro-life agenda.”

“As y’all know well, Mississippi is a state that protects and values life. In fact, we led the way to the greatest win for life in a generation, the overturning of Roe v. Wade. While I’m extremely proud of the role Mississippi played in this monumental victory, winning a court case was never our true objective. Rather, it was building a culture of life throughout our state and throughout our nation. Today in Mississippi, we are focused on the next phase in our pursuit to build that culture of life, the new pro-life agenda.

“In pursuing this agenda, Mississippi is leading the way in advancing support for moms and babies, and we are taking major steps to protect life and support families. During my tenure as governor, Mississippi increased support for pregnancy resource centers, we’ve expanded safe haven laws, we’ve implemented policies to make adoption less expensive, and we’ve enhanced resources for new mothers, just to name a few.

“Mississippi will remain relentless in our commitment to life. We will remain relentless in our support of mothers and children, and we will remain relentless in our efforts to advance the new pro-life agenda. But it can’t happen without you, so please keep up the good work. Again, I am proud of you and Mississippi is proud of you. Thank you for everything you’re doing to protect life, and I look forward to seeing y’all soon. God Bless.”