
As Valentine’s Day nears, many Catholic parishes and ministries are preparing to celebrate World Marriage Day 9 February.
The holiday began in Baton Rouge in 1981 when marriage enthusiasts declared 14 February “We Believe in Marriage Day.”
Worldwide Marriage Encounter adopted and spread the celebration, now held on the second Sunday of February.
The Catholic organisation is suggesting ways to mark the day: running a bulletin announcement celebrating marriage, posting a video message with testimonies from married couples, celebrating a liturgy honouring marriage or hosting a marriage enrichment event.
In College Station, Texas, St Thomas Aquinas Parish is celebrating the day with a blessing over all the married couples at the 8 February vigil Mass followed by a parish dinner—this year with a Polish wedding theme and polka dancing.
The whole parish pitches in to make the event accessible to all. The Louisiana-based Witness to Love marriage ministry is encouraging parishes to reach out to civilly married couples in the spirit of the Jubilee Year of Hope, to invite couples to share their testimony at the end of Sunday Mass.
It is also posting a novena on social media with specific marriage-related special intentions.