Scottish Catholic Observer

Couples of all ages, mostly married within the last year, joined Archbishop Philip Tartaglia and Fr Nicholas Monaghan, the archdiocese’s priest for family and married life, for the special Mass at St Andrew’s Cathedral, Glasgow.

The Mass aims to offer support and community to newlyweds, people celebrating their anniversaries and families.

Family of saints

At this year’s Mass, the congregation venerated the relics of St Louis Martin and St Marie-Azélie Guérin—the parents of St Thérèse of Lisieux.

The couple were canonised on October 18, 2015, making them the first spouses in Church history to become saints as a couple.

Fr Monaghan said: “When we had the relics of St Thérèse here, the custodian gave the archbishop relics of her parents, and we felt it would be a good idea to take them to the Mass.

“So the couples ended the Mass by venerating their relics.”

At the Mass, Archbishop Tartaglia told the couples and families: “I brought these relics here today so that you could have the opportunity after Mass to venerate them, as you seek the intercession an prayers of these saints for your married life.”

Hope of the Church

He added: “Today I want you to know how blessed you are to have found one another, love one another and married one another.

“I want you to know how important your marriage is to the Church and to the world.

“I want you to be happy all your lives together. You really are the hope of the Church.”

Fr Monaghan stated the Mass encourages couples in ‘their mission of marriage.’

“It’s a growing initiative, and sometimes when couples get married they’re thinking ‘what’s next?’ so this is to show them they’re not forgotten,” he said.

“It’s a great opportunity for the archbishop to meet and be with them because at weddings it’s usually the parish priest who marries the couple.”