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A sea of heart-shaped cards, candy, and decor reminds couples that Valentine's Day is approaching. Meanwhile, many Catholic parishes are preparing to celebrate World Marriage Day, a related but distinct memorial to love.
The holiday originated in Baton Rouge in 1981 when marriage enthusiasts declared February 14 as "We Believe in Marriage Day." The Catholic organization Worldwide Marriage Encounter adopted the celebration, now observed on the second Sunday of February. This year, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops selected "Marriage: Source of Hope, Spring of Renewal. Pursue a Lasting Love!" as the theme for World Marriage Day on February 9 and National Marriage Week from February 7-14.
In College Station, Texas, St. Thomas Aquinas Parish will celebrate World Marriage Day with a blessing over married couples at the February 8 vigil Mass followed by a parish dinner dance featuring a Polish wedding theme. Father Albert Laforet Jr., pastor of St. Thomas Aquinas, said the event aims to be family-friendly and affordable so young families can participate.
"We try to make it very family friendly and inexpensive so our young families can participate," he told OSV News.
Parishioners contribute to the event's success by preparing food and providing entertainment. Father Laforet emphasized that strong marriage and family culture fosters vocations within the church.
As coordinators for Worldwide Marriage Encounter's World Marriage Day activities, Tom and Julie Gennaro promote various ways parishes can observe the occasion.
"It can be as simple as asking your priest to pray over married couples to handing out Hershey’s Kisses as people leave the parish," said Julie Gennaro.
Worldwide Marriage Encounter also promotes marriage throughout the year with its Longest Married Couple Project. Recent winners include Charles and Goldia Sasse from Fairbury, Illinois, who have been married for 79 years.
Thirteen years ago, Louisiana couple Ryan and Mary-Rose Verret founded Witness to Love marriage ministry to connect couples more meaningfully with their church community. Their program involves engaged couples selecting mentor couples who commit to supporting them throughout their marriage.
"We were trying to do a two-for-one evangelization effort," Mary-Rose Verret told OSV News.
The Witness to Love program is active in 85 dioceses and has involved thousands of couples and mentors. During this Jubilee Year themed "Pilgrims of Hope" by Pope Francis, they encourage outreach to civilly married couples.
On social media, Witness to Love will share a novena for matrimony featuring patron saint couples and special intentions for various marital challenges.
"Married life can be difficult... we’re just trying to wrap every married couple in a prayerful hug with this novena," said Mary-Rose Verret.
Zoey Maraist reports for OSV News from Virginia.
