Forty-six Catholics said ‘I do’ at a mass wedding ceremony in the Archdiocese of Vancouver.
The mass wedding celebrations have been held for four years to help civilly married couples receive God’s blessing on their nuptials.
Oana Tanese, who was one of the brides, described the day as beautiful.
“It was a very beautiful experience and we are very thankful that we were able to participate.”
She and her husband Juan Francisco Fierro have been married for 10 years and have three girls.
“It feels wonderful,” Tanese said. “It really feels like a blessing to be able to experience this. It has made it so much easier than if we would have had to organize it ourselves.
“We brought up the girls in the faith and decided it was very much time,” she explained. “Our youngest is going to be receiving First Communion in the spring. We wanted to make sure that we were married in the Church before she gets to do that.”
Oliver Gutierrez and Violeta Caldera, who were also married during the event, said they had initially decided on a civil wedding with the expectation that they would get married in the Church later.
“My husband told me after we were married civilly for five years we would marry in the Church,” Violeta explained. “Ten years passed so I said, ‘OK, now it’s time.’”
She also said that their decision followed some health struggles they faced.
“It was after I was sick with lymphoma two times. We promised to do it to get God’s blessing. I had been through a lot (of illness) and we wanted to thank him for what he did to us; for healing me.”
The couple said they expect their relationship will benefit.
“It’s good, but it is going to be even better,” Gutierrez said.
“Our relationship will change for the best,” Caldera added. “We have God’s blessing now.”
“We wanted to get that better relationship with our creator,” Gutierrez said.
The couple married 10 years ago in Nicaragua and have lived in Canada for eight years. Caldera’s brother, sister-in-law, mother, and cousin were all there to celebrate with them.
Claude Fayemi and Rita Segbaya were also among the participants. The couple were civilly married 25 years ago before they left their home in West Africa.
Segbaya said they felt like they were officially inviting Christ into their marriage. They both expect the spiritual aspect of their relationship to be enhanced.
“We are praying, but it will mean more,” she said.
During his homily, Archbishop Michael Miller urged the couples to pray together for a healthy relationship.
“Today does mark a new beginning in your relationship with each other,” Archbishop Miller said. “God will enter into your married life with his grace in a new and powerful way.”
He said the marriage relationship is God’s will and that Jesus’ sacrifice gives marriage a supernatural meaning.
“Marriage is more than an institution found in every society,” the archbishop said. He told the couples their marriages were mirrors that reflect God’s love for his people and his Church. “Marriage is an icon or image of what it means when we say God loves us.”
Marriage is also a vocation and God’s gift to his people for their sanctification so they can become holy. “This is the way, frankly, that you will one day reach heaven.”
This mass wedding ceremony was held Sept. 21 at the Our Lady of Good Counsel parish in Surrey. The first ceremony was in 2016 when 15 couples were married.
