Non-Catholic couple shares wedding joy with Catholics

A non-Catholic couple invited dozens of elderly people, some from a Church-run home, as guests to their wedding at a parish church.

Elderly members of Nanchong Parish attend the wedding banquet of Li Xi and his wife Yang Luming

Saying they wanted to return to society some of the kindness they have received from others, Li Xi and his wife Yang Luming invited the Church choir, the parish´s drum group and dozens of elderly to their wedding and banquet in Nanchong, Sichuan province.

After the blessing, presided over by Father Joseph Chen Gong´ao, diocesan administrator of Nanchong, a banquet was also held for their guests, spread over 12 tables. This is a traditional number in Chinese weddings symbolizing the months in a year.

“People cannot live without the care and love of others,” Li told UCA News. “We hope our small action will show our solitary with the elderly and share our happiness with them,” a form of support that they said was increasingly rare in secular society.

Despite their “untraditional decision” inviting strangers to the wedding, this was done with the support of both their parents, who recognized that it could remind many people of the Chinese virtue of respecting the elderly, said the happy couple.

Sister Teresa Wang Yan of Nanchong, said that though the husband and wife are not Church members, the seeds of faith have been sown in their hearts. “They said they know that God will take care of their needs and grant them peace in life,” she added.

Li Xi and his wife Yang Luming, surrounded by friends, family and guests

The trend among young couples of all faiths to be married or be photographed at Western-style churches has also created an opportunity for evangelization and generating church income.

According to Sister Wang, 19 non-Catholic couples have celebrated their weddings in the Nanchong Church so far, including five couples this year alone. Parish priests will usually give non-Catholics a blessing inside the church while laypersons receive the Sacrament of Marriage at a wedding Mass.

However, the nun said she found it a pity that the Church had not yet been able to conduct pre-marital guidance programs for couples, suggesting parish workers might help to explain the meaning of marriage based on Church teachings.