Christendom College administrators plan to cancel classes on Friday to encourage students to attend the 40th annual March for Life nearby in Washington, D.C.

Officials at a Catholic college plan on canceling class to encourage students to attend the 40th annual March for Life.

Niall O’Donnell, assistant director of public relations for Christendom College, which is staunchly Catholic, told Campus Reform he expects the vast majority of students will attend the demonstration near the U.S. Capitol, which is expected to attract tens of thousands of activists.

“It’s just the type of student we attract to this school," O’Donnell explained. "They’re very, deeply committed to the pro-life movement.”

Participation is optional for Christendom’s students, said O'Donnell, but it is strongly encouraged.

O'Donnell estimated more than eighty-percent of the student body will be in attendance this year.

Christendom, located in Front Royal, Virginia, just over an hour from the nation's capitol, has been canceling classes for the march since its founding in 1977. The school has been a prominent presence at the event ever since and Christendom students led the march in 1984, 1998, 2009, and 2012 when they held the lead banners and flags.

O’Donnell said Christendom is one of the few schools in the country that cancels classes so that students have the opportunity to attend the march.

“It’s only a handful of schools that do something like this,” O’Donnell stated.

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