They all got married in 1972 and renewed their vows on Sunday.
On Sunday, over 300 couples met at a Chicago church to commemorate an incredible milestone in their lives. They all celebrated 50 years of marriage with their spouses, reports PEOPLE. Family members joined the longstanding couples as they renewed their vows at Holy Name Cathedral to honor their golden wedding anniversary.
They were all married in 1972 and spent 50 years together, filled with their children's smiles, joy, love, and even sadness and pain. Barbara Didiw, from among the couples gathered, told WLS-TV, "I came here I was 20 years old. I met this guy and we'd known each other for only two weeks." Her husband, Walter Didiw, added, "That's it."
"It was very emotional. Hadn't thought about coming here, but when you're in there and you start thinking 50 years gone by and all the experiences together," said Carl Meyer whose wife, Joyce Meyer, added, "We brought my parents here when they celebrated their 50th. I always remember that and now we're there, which is hard to believe."
Cardinal Blase J. Cupich lauded the length of these relationships in his homily, which was posted on Holy Name Cathedral's YouTube channel. He used a baseball analogy to emphasize the point. "Two thousand, six hundred and thirty-two. Those are the number of games Carl Ripkin Jr. played in a consecutive row. And he was honored for that as a man who always showed up. And it was worth celebrating," he said.
'We may not be lucky at cards but we're always lucky in love.' 300 Chicargo couples gathered to celebrate 50 years of wedding bliss. https://t.co/l9y6FJUCDT
— Fairlady Magazine (@FairladyMag) September 22, 2022
According to his calculations, 50 years of marriage "involves more than 18,000 days." He thinks that this milestone is something to be proud of.
Very few people know how to put in efforts to sustain a marriage this long. However, the couples gathered in the church shared some of their secrets to sustenance. Jim Mclemore said, "Never go to bed angry." Pat Mclemore added, "My father-in-law said when I got married that we may not be lucky at cards but we're always lucky in love because Mclemore means son of love."
Anthony and Cynthia Morales said, "Negative or positive, you have to communicate. You can't read each other's minds. You have to communicate. It's a journey and you have to fight it, ups and downs, you've just got to fight. That's all."
Dino Micheli said of his wife, "I learned one thing: She's always right." His wife Adrienne shared, "A sense of humor is very important."
The Cardinal said on Sunday, "You are the people who since the day that you promised to be true to each other, in good times and bad and in sickness and in health, promising yourself and God, and you have showed up each and every day. That is worth celebrating."
References:
https://people.com/human-interest/300-couples-celebrate-50th-wedding-anniversary-by-renewing-vows/
https://abc7chicago.com/golden-wedding-anniversary-holy-name-cathedral-renewing-vows/12239188/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCKLXl_WO6g
Cover Image Source: Holy Name Cathedral/Youtube
