A celebration of married life

In a beautiful ceremony at the Cathedral of St Mary the Crowned, Bishop Charles Azzopardi gave out certificates to forty couples who were celebrating wedding anniversaries of 60, 50, 40, 20 and 10 years.

In his opening address, the bishop said that he has been involved in these anniversary ceremonies for nearly 35 years and that it was a joyful day for the church and the community to see so many couples, as their years of married life increased.

He first thanked the Christian Family Movement who have been organising the service since its beginnings, then thanked the couples, their families and friends, who had filled the cathedral for this annual celebration of married life.

After readings and the gospel, Fr Charlie gave a short homily highlighting that the couples were the pillars of our society and that it was heroic to come through the difficulties of life and be an example of fidelity and start families, which hopefully would take their example and give themselves something to look forward to in their later years.

The bishop then asked the celebrating couples to stand and renew their marriage vows, urging them to say their responses in a loud voice. After that, couples came up individually to receive their certificates and a small gift as a memento of the ceremony.

All couples had their photo taken with the bishop and then followed a sung Lord’s Prayer and a floral tribute to Our Lady of Europe, when a small procession of couples brought flowers and a lit candle which were placed at the statue’s feet by the bishop.

After the final blessing, couples hugged and kissed their families and each other, crowding the centre aisle as the final hymn was still being sung.

Before the ceremony began, the Chronicle spoke to some couples about their memories.

TV personality Pepe Palmero and his wife Beatrice were celebrating 60 years and she said she was thankful for having being blessed with a good husband. They have three grandchildren.
“In the early days it was difficult,” Mr Palmero said.

“The closed border meant we had to go through Tangier for holidays. There were difficulties for many people for a long time. Nowadays things are better, except for the war."
John and Josephine Grech also celebrated 60 years. Mrs Grech described how they have four grandchildren and a happy life.

Ernest and Carmen Torres celebrated their 62nd anniversary.

Mrs Torres highlighted that they had always got on very well. They have five grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

“We are actually celebrating sixty two years” said Ernest, and Carmen added “And four years of courtship - so we’ve been together for 66 years.”

Albert and Susanne Cruz marked 50 years. Susanne highlighted memories of their wedding celebration at St Michael’s Cave adding that, when their third son got married, they both felt a sense of achievement after having created their family and seeing their children all get married.

Louis and Isabel Azzopardi celebrated 60 years. They have five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

“I joined the police force in 1962,” said Louis.

“There were difficult days at first,” added Isabel, “in those days you had to save hard if you wanted any extra things.”

Melvyn and Sonia Farrell shared their 50th anniversary. They have two sons and two grandchildren. Melvyn remembered their honeymoon.

“We went on a Cosmos tour back then. A hectic ten countries in five days.”

Sonia remembers that, due to an unexpected change, their wedding at St Theresa’s was officiated by a Jesuit priest.

“As Father Devlin was away in Ireland,” she explained.

“The Jesuit said it was his first marriage officiating. And later we both thought… has he done it right? Are we legally married?”

Clive and Christine Nuza celebrated 50 years. Clive remembered their honeymoon at the London Mayfair hotel, “on New Year’s Eve, we went to Piccadilly Circus.”

Christine remembered that they were “lucky to get a house at Varyl Begg quickly and not have to wait”. They were allocated a bedsitter at first so they avoided the infamous waiting list.

Well-travelled couple Charles and Vivian Curtis also celebrated 50 years and now have six grandchildren. “Four boys and two girls,” said Christine.

Charles remembered that they honeymooned in the UK. Adding that: “Today we probably wouldn’t visit UK, but back then it was our first choice.”

Clive and Maria De Los Angeles Galliano marked 50 years, have three children and four grandchildren, “we had a long courtship as she was in the Girl Guides and I was in the Boy Scouts.”

Mari Angeles remembered “the old dinner dances when we were courting, they were very happy times.”

The evening was a moment of celebration for all the couples who renewed their vows and their families were able to share the special memories.

This was the first wedding renewal under Bishop Charles, who embraced each and every couple at the presentation.

10 years