Edilberto and Vilma Cruz married under the guidance of Holy Mother Church at their family parish, St. Patrick-St. Mary in Newburgh, one of 15 Latino couples to do so.

The couples were married during a special wedding Mass, conducted in Spanish, on the afternoon of Friday, September 8. Two priests and two deacons presided, followed by a reception in the parish hall. Some of the couples had previously been married civilly, others had non-marriage unions. All had determined it was time to be married in the Church and attended preparation sessions for Holy Matrimony.       

“It was all well organized and the ceremony ended joyfully,” Edilberto Cruz, 56, told The Good Newsroom in a phone interview, in his native Spanish. “We have both grown in the faith over the years; this was important. Matrimony is being in communion with God. We did this for us as a couple and for our family.”  

“It was a beautiful day; we are very happy – we are at peace,” Vilma Cruz, 49, noted. The Honduran-born couple had been married for 10 years under a civil union; they have a 17-year-old daughter and a 16-year-old son.  

Father Marco Ortega, parochial vicar at St. Patrick-St. Mary, was the lead organizer and among the presiders of the group wedding effort, as he also was in October 2019 when 21 Hispanic couples were married in a group wedding at the parish – couples who also had determined it was time to be married in the Church.

Father Ortega said that like the 2019 group wedding, the recent gathering was “an experience of joy in our parish community.” He noted the reception was made possible with help from volunteers from the parish chapter of the Cursillos Movement, and the group wedding occurred “with the permission and blessing from the parish pastor, Father Fernando Hernandez.”

Wilson Duarte and Lidia Garcia were also among the 15 couples married in the group wedding last Friday. St. Patrick-St. Mary is their family parish. They are Guatemalan-born and had a civil marriage 12 years ago; they have three children. “We were presented with this opportunity, and we are very grateful,” said Duarte, 41, noting his gratitude to the presiders and all who made the group wedding possible.  

“It was unforgettable; it was beautiful,” Garcia, 39, said of the wedding and reception. “My parents and my grandparents always taught me about the faith, about the Church.”