Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., celebrated Mass with married couples from Burlington and Mercer County parishes who are marking special wedding anniversaries -- one year, 25, 50 or more years of marriage in St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral, Trenton Oct. 3. All couples received a blessing from the Bishop and had the opportunity to reaffirm their marriage vows.

“You are marriage’s success stories. You are the witnesses of God’s grace and work,” Bishop O’Connell said in his homily.

“This is a special milestone for us, and we wanted to share it with our children,” Sean Gorman, parishioner of St. Raphael/Holy Angels Parish, Hamilton, shared.  He and his wife, Marie, celebrated 25 years of marriage this past August.

The Mass, which was attended by more than 100 couples – the majority of whom are celebrating more than 50 years of marriage, was also livestreamed on diocesan media sites for those who were not able to attend in person.

John and Sue Bensel, parishioners of Our Lady of Sorrows/St. Anthony Parish, Hamilton, celebrated 62 years of marriage in June.  While they were not able to attend the blessing, they shared via email, “We were very pleased to follow the Mass blessing on YouTube yesterday.”

In addition to YouTube, where the Mass can be viewed in both English and Spanish, recordings can also be found on the Diocese of Trenton Facebook pages.

The Anniversary Blessing Mass for married couples in Monmouth and Ocean counties will be celebrated by Bishop O'Connell Oct. 10 in St. Robert Bellarmine Co-Cathedral, Freehold. Full coverage of both Masses will be featured in the November issue of The Monitor magazine. To pre-order copies, go to dioceseoftrenton.org/monitor-subscriptions, and to place a congratulatory message for the couples, go to dioceseoftrenton.org/congratulations-messages