A single mother, people who have been married before
and couples who have been living together “in sin”
have been married by Pope Francis in a taboo-
challenging ceremony at the Vatican.
In another signal of the openness of his papacy,
Francis asked to marry 40 people from different social
backgrounds who would be a realistic sample of
modern couples.
Popes very rarely perform marriages — the last one
was in 2000.
Marriage “is not an easy road, it’s sometimes a
contentious trip, but that’s life”, the Pope told the
couples, both young and old, as their families gathered
for the solemn two-hour ceremony on Saturday.
“It’s normal that couples fight. That always happens,
but don’t end the day without making peace, even a
small gesture is enough,” said the pontiff, who donned
a red robe for the occasion rather than his usual white.
One of the couples he married was single mother
Gabriella and her partner Guido, whose previous
marriage was annulled by an ecclesiastical tribunal.
The last time a pope performed a marriage was under
the leadership of John Paul II in 2000, and before that
in 1994.
It comes three weeks before a major synod of the
Catholic Church will discuss the divisive issues of
marriage, divorce and conception.
The church ban on allowing divorcees who have
remarried to receive communion is one of the key
topics up for debate, and resolving deep divisions over
the issue inside the church is seen as a key test of
Francis’ leadership.
Francis has shown himself more open than his
predecessors on the subject of marriage, and has
spoken of more realistic attitude to social problems,
raising the issue of broken marriages and abandoned
women.
Last January he baptised the child of a single mother
in the Sistine Chapel along with the daughter of a
couple who had not been married in a church.
