Hundreds Renew Wedding Vows at Special Mass

Hundreds of couples gathered Sunday at St. John Baptist de la Salle Church in Granada Hills to renew their wedding vows before Cardinal Roger M. Mahony.

The special Mass was celebrated to mark World Marriage Day 1999, a day honoring all married couples throughout the United States and in many countries around the world.

World Marriage Day is celebrated each year in February and most often on Valentine’s Day, said Joan Vienna, director of the Office of Family Life of the Los Angeles Archdiocese, which has hosted celebrations for the past 28 years in the five pastoral regions that make up the archdiocese.

Mahony presided over the worship service, during which the couples received a commemorative ribbon and certificate. They were later feted at a reception in the church courtyard.

“There are many who say it is impossible to live in a committed relationship with the same person for 10 years, five years, or even two months,” Mahony said, getting a huge laugh from the congregation. “But you are proof that it is possible.”