Church Marriage Blessing on Camino

[Steve Hackman]

Hi all,

In April 2017 I will do the Camino Frances for the second time but this time will be bringing along my wife, parents, and and my son. April will also be when my wife and I celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary. I was going to try to see if one of the priests who perform a pilgrim's blessing at Mass would be willing to perform a quick blessing as my wife and I renew our marriage vows in front of our family. (like 1 minute) Has anyone had an "extra" function performed by a priest on the camino?

 

[SYates]

I think the best person to contact would be @JohnnieWalker who organizes the Camino Chaplaincy. Buen Camino and Congratulations! SY

 

[Deacon Jason]

What SY said...also, if you are renewing your marriage vows, you'll want to carry an official copy of your Catholic marriage certificate with you. While the anniversary blessing is no big deal, most priests or deacons would want to verify that you were married in the church before renewing vows in order to avoid accidentally receiving the vows of a couple who don't meet the requirements for marriage in the Church.

Grace+Peace

-Jason

 

[JohnnieWalker]

Hola - I think doing a Camino together in the 25th year of your marriage is a wonderful idea. Couples regularly request prayers and a blessing when celebrating their anniversary. Out on the Camino you may have to ask for this in Spanish. The Camino Chaplaincy for English speakers is usually operating in Santiago and in one or two locations on the Camino Frances from mid April /May. However there are some priests in Santiago and on the Camino Frances who speak sufficient English and would be happy to do this for you. Email me nearer the time and I'll send you the information.

 

[Steve Hackman]

Hola - I think doing a Camino together in the 25th year of your marriage is a wonderful idea. Couples regularly request prayers and a blessing when celebrating their anniversary. Out on the Camino you may have to ask for this in Spanish. The Camino Chaplaincy for English speakers is usually operating in Santiago and in one or two locations on the Camino Frances from mid April /May. However there are some priests in Santiago and on the Camino Frances who speak sufficient English and would be happy to do this for you. Email me nearer the time and I'll send you the information.

Wonderful Johnnie, That sounds great. I will contact you again closer to the date. Thanks as well Jason & SYates!

 

[Mad Manx]

Sorry to resurrect an old thread but I think this is a wonderful idea did it happen and if so how. As I would like to do something similar for my fiancee next year

 

[Texas Walker]

What SY said...also, if you are renewing your marriage vows, you'll want to carry an official copy of your Catholic marriage certificate with you. While the anniversary blessing is no big deal, most priests or deacons would want to verify that you were married in the church before renewing vows in order to avoid accidentally receiving the vows of a couple who don't meet the requirements for marriage in the Church.

Grace+Peace

-Jason

Given that Catholics don't actually repeat the promises, not a problem.

I was blessed to be with DH at Cana last fall and our pastor, who was with our group on the pilgrimage, had all the couples line up together after Mass, then we "Remembered" that we had pledged to each other. "Moonie style" because there were 7 couples. Then he blessed the whole lot of us. (At Cana, there is a Franciscan convent right outside and you can get a blank certificate of renewal there and take it to the priest later to add his signature alongside the signature of the custodian of the shrine. Fill in your own names and dates of course, I used the date file in our photo to do that part.) It's not possible under that setup to accidentally marry someone, there aren't any vows used. And our pastor used The Book for it, so we know he did it right.

 

[Steve Hackman]

Sorry to resurrect an old thread but I think this is a wonderful idea did it happen and if so how. As I would like to do something similar for my fiancee next year

Sadly, it didn't occur in the way I wanted, but my wife and I walked the whole Camino and she got hooked. We are eyeing opening a private albergue on the Camino Portugueses