The
Catholic Weekly
Online
Sydney
21 September 2003
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Heaven
scent floral feast
Welcome
strangers’ call
Bishops:
Fight racism
Bishop
Mayne dies at 75
Senate
‘yes’ to gay bid
Benedictine
nuns gather in Sydney
Tears
of joy at Marriage Sunday Mass
Donor
club
His
Holiness, the poet
Concert
to mark Pope’s jubilee
It’s
‘weakness of faith’
Still
a need for Catholic voice: Dr Pell
Editorial:
Spectre of fear
Letters:
Christian values
Conversation:
Amanda McKenna, Catholic singer and songwriter - ‘God’s messenger’ on a journey
of faith
Opintion:
‘Good mother of all ...’
Voice
of Youth: ‘Most wonderful day’
Insights:
Biblical ancestors?
Religious:
Spirit-ualities are everywhere
North
American, Irish, Australian sisters in historic Loreto reunion
Education:
Decade a day at school
Social
Work degree course at Strathfield
Balmain
kids hit right note
Catechism:
Daytime course
New
bishops ‘help God’s light shine in darkness’
Capacity
to forgive ...
‘Heroic
witness’ to the Gospel of hope
‘Kids
worth dying for’
Inspirations:
‘Schoolies’ faith patrol
Tears of joy at Marriage Sunday Mass
Irene and Henry with Mons Tony Doherty at St Mary’s last year
By Damir Govorcin
Irene and Henry Gassman shed tears when they attended Mass to celebrate Marriage Sunday at St Mary’s Cathedral last year.
They were celebrating their 60th anniversary, having been married in the cathedral in 1942.
It was an emotional occasion with Henry wheelchair bound, suffering from asbestosis, but seeming to draw strength from his family with his four children and 10 grandchildren all there to share in the big day.
Henry died in March this year, but Irene says it was special that they could go down memory lane together for a final time.
“We both could see ourselves at the altar exchanging vows like we did 60 years previously, and we just both broke down and cried a lot,” she said.
“The cathedral always held a special place in our hearts.
“We both shared an affinity with the cathedral … we loved it so much. It made us feel special to be Catholic being in the cathedral and we loved attending Mass and going to confession there.”
Irene says she and the rest of her family will be attending this year’s Marriage Sunday Mass celebrations in the cathedral at 10.30am on October 12.
All those who have been married in the cathedral, along with their families and friends, are invited to join the celebration.
Barry Stafford, a cathedral volunteer, attended the special Marriage Sunday Mass last year to honour his great-grandparents, Joseph and Sarah Ann Stafford, who were married in St Mary’s Cathedral in July 1865.
The cathedral has seen many marriages in its 180-year history. The archives reveal that more than 300 marriages were celebrated in one year during World War II.
Couples attending this year’s Mass should contact the cathedral office on 9220 0400 so that a commemorative certificate can be prepared for them.