Monmouth, Ocean County couples celebrated at Bishop’s Anniversary Blessings Mass

October 7, 2019 at 3:44 p.m.
Monmouth, Ocean County couples celebrated at Bishop’s Anniversary Blessings Mass
Monmouth, Ocean County couples celebrated at Bishop’s Anniversary Blessings Mass

EmmaLee Italia

St. Robert Bellarmine Co-Cathedral was filled to capacity the afternoon of Oct. 6 as more than 100 married couples from Monmouth and Ocean Counties gathered to celebrate as family and friends witnessed their commitment of love.

For those celebrating their first, 25th, 50th or more anniversaries this year, the annual Bishop’s Anniversary Blessings Mass in Freehold’s Co-Cathedral was an opportunity to share the occasion as a faith community. Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., celebrated the Mass, assisted by priests of the Diocese.

“It’s amazing how many people were here today. We’re not alone!” said Maryann Cole of St. Thomas More Parish, Manalapan, who has been married to her husband, Gerard, for 50 years. “Today was beautiful. And 50 years – where did it go? It was like it was yesterday.”

A second Bishop’s Anniversary Blessings Mass is planned for Oct. 20 in St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral, Trenton, to mark the milestone anniversaries of couples from Mercer and Burlington Counties.

To read more about the two Masses, and view dozens of photos, pick up next month’s issue of The Monitor Magazine, set to be delivered the week of Nov. 1, and visit TrentonMonitor.com


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St. Robert Bellarmine Co-Cathedral was filled to capacity the afternoon of Oct. 6 as more than 100 married couples from Monmouth and Ocean Counties gathered to celebrate as family and friends witnessed their commitment of love.

For those celebrating their first, 25th, 50th or more anniversaries this year, the annual Bishop’s Anniversary Blessings Mass in Freehold’s Co-Cathedral was an opportunity to share the occasion as a faith community. Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., celebrated the Mass, assisted by priests of the Diocese.

“It’s amazing how many people were here today. We’re not alone!” said Maryann Cole of St. Thomas More Parish, Manalapan, who has been married to her husband, Gerard, for 50 years. “Today was beautiful. And 50 years – where did it go? It was like it was yesterday.”

A second Bishop’s Anniversary Blessings Mass is planned for Oct. 20 in St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral, Trenton, to mark the milestone anniversaries of couples from Mercer and Burlington Counties.

To read more about the two Masses, and view dozens of photos, pick up next month’s issue of The Monitor Magazine, set to be delivered the week of Nov. 1, and visit TrentonMonitor.com

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