It was a beautiful day both outside and inside the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception on Sunday, Sept. 25. That afternoon 150 couples from throughout the diocese — many accompanied by children and grandchildren — came to take part in the annual anniversary celebration for couples married 50 years or longer. In all, about 500 people attended the celebration, which was opened with an hour-long musical prelude.
While all of the invited couples were celebrating at least five decades of marriage in 2011, three of the couples in attendance had been married over 70 years. This year, the longest-married couple at the Mass was Peter and Mary Bono of St. Katharine Drexel Parish in Springfield. They have been husband and wife for 72 years.
As is the custom in the Springfield diocese, Bishop Thomas John Paprocki was the main celebrant of the Mass. Concelebrating were Msgr. Carl Kemme, vicar general and pastor of St. John Vianney Parish in Sherman; Father Peter Harman, pastor of Cathedral Parish; and Father Kevin Laughery, judicial vicar and pastor of several diocesan parishes. Father Daren Zehnle was master of ceremonies. Serving as deacons were Deacon Patrick O'Toole, director of the Office for Marriage and Family Life, and Deacon Larry Smith of Cathedral Parish.
In his homily, Bishop Paprocki said that when he first toured the diocese in 2010, he expressed his vision for its future. "In part, I said, 'I see communities where family life is valued, homes with mother and a father who love their children and whose children love them; parents who educate and form their children and themselves in the Catholic faith.' Each of you has had and continues to have an important role to play in the fulfillment of this vision.
"Throughout the many years of your married lives you have remained faithful to the promises you made before God and before the church," he said. "I am deeply grateful to you for your fidelity and for your examples of sacrificial love. I am also grateful to Almighty God who, through the many outpourings of his grace, has made it possible for you to remain faithful to one another."
Bishop Paprocki congratulated the couples on the "fine witness" they have provided. He said "the world desperately needs to learn the joy and beauty that come from a life lived from the attitude that is Christ" and urged the couples to speak with couples who have been married for a few years and those who seek to be married.
"Help them to understand the fundamental beauty and the goals of marriage. Help them to strengthen their relationships with Christ and to unite themselves with his sufferings," he said. "Help them to be faithful to God and to one another in every circumstance of life.
"With your help and guidance, and following the witness of your own married lives, many more couples will come to know the joy of a long married life," he said. "In this way, the world will have many mirrors reflecting God's love for his people and the message of salvation will be spread far and wide."
Following Bishop Paprocki's homily, the couples renewed their wedding vows, declaring their commitments to one another. Many of them sealed those vows with a quick kiss.
The Mass for long-married couples and the reception that followed are sponsored by the Office for Marriage and Family Life and funded by the Annual Catholic Services Appeal. Music for the prelude and Mass were provided by Jill Griffin and members of St. Boniface Parish in Edwardsville.