Pope makes a surprise visit to Swiss guard’s wedding
Pope Francis made a surprise entrance at the wedding of a Swiss guard and his Brazilian fiancé at the St Stephen’s Church of the Abyssinians in Vatican City.
On Saturday, the pontiff took over the role of officiating the wedding from Brazilian priest Father Renato dos Santos, who was as surprised as the couple and the guests.
“Never in my life, never would I have thought of finding the Pope in a sacristy,” dos Santos told Vatican NewsExternal link.
His homily during the ceremony was on three verbs that would help the couple live their marriage to the full: “to begin”, “to stop”, and “to resume the journey”.
The Pope rarely presides at wedding ceremonies. On January 18, he surprised two flight attendants by offering to conduct a religious marriage ceremony at an altitude of 10,000 metres, in a plane connecting the Chilean cities of Santiago and Iquique.
Pope Francis had visited Geneva last month on a whirlwind one-day tour to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the World Council of Churches (WCC) and to promote Christian unity.
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Pope Francis makes rare visit to Switzerland
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