ANNIVERSARY BLESSINGS

Nearly 350 couples came together for the Bishop’s Anniversary Blessings Oct. 7 and 21 in Freehold’s Co-Cathedral and the Cathedral in Trenton. Among them were Ben and Frances Paolillo of St. Luke Parish, Toms River – the only ones celebrating 75 years of marriage. 

The Diocese’s annual gatherings brought anniversary couples and their loved ones together with Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., and area priests for a tribute to married love and fidelity.

“There’s a lot of love in this room,” Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., said as he looked over a sea of smiling couples, each celebrating a milestone anniversary this year.

“Today is a wonderful occasion for us to celebrate marriage, your marriage, your anniversaries in the midst of a community of faith,” he said. “This is your Sacrament, and this Sacrament that brought you together, this Sacrament that kept you together is a bond that has become stronger and deeper and holier with the passage of time.”

Ask Ben and Frances Paolillo what the secret is to their 75-years-and-still-going-strong marriage, and one word keeps coming up: respect.

“The secret is respect,” Ben explained. “Take care of her, and she’ll take care of you.”

“And don’t argue,” Frances added. “Arguments don’t help – they only make you feel like a bad person.”

Joy, tenderness and gratitude were reflected in the faces of nearly 300 couples honored by the Diocese of Trenton during the annual Bishop’s Anniversary Blessings Oct. 8 and 22. Couples marking one, 25 and 50 or more years of marriage were blessed by Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., who affirmed them in their vocation to married life and thanked them for the powerful witness they offer to their families, friends and community.