ON SAT., FEB. 7, approximately 70 married couples from across Orange County attended the National Marriage Week Diocesan Wedding Anniversaries Mass 2026, celebrated at in the Arboretum at Christ Cathedral in Garden Grove.
BISHOP THANH THAI NGUYEN POSED WITH A COUPLE FOLLOWING THE NATIONAL MARRIAGE WEEK DIOCESAN WEDDING ANNIVERSARIES MASS 2026, CELEBRATED ON FEB. 7. PHOTOS BY SCOTT SMELTZER/DIOCESE OF ORANGE
Organized by the diocesan Office for Family Life, the Mass offered the opportunity for couples to renew their commitments to each other in four languages. A reception in the Cultural Center followed, where couples could enjoy refreshments, take a photo with Bishop Nguyen, browse resources and pick up a free book.
The Mass coincided with National Marriage Week, recognized in the United States from Feb. 7 to Feb. 14, and preceding World Marriage Sunday, which lands on Feb. 8.
A COUPLE LISTENS INTENTLY DURING THE NATIONAL MARRIAGE WEEK DIOCESAN WEDDING ANNIVERSARIES MASS,
WHICH WAS CELEBRATED ON FEB. 7 AT CHRIST CATHEDRAL CAMPUS.
Bishop Thanh Thai Nguyen presided at the Mass, celebrating the vocation of ordinary married life in his homily: “Marriage includes the mundane and sometimes difficult realities of socks on the floor, dishes in the sink and snoring at 3:00 in the morning. It is far more than a lifestyle choice or a living arrangement with tax advantages; it is a vocation and a sacred calling similar to that of a priest or religious.”
“Like any vocation,” Bishop Nguyen continued, “marriage requires an ongoing dialogue with God, where even ordinary acts—like washing a dish or tossing a sock in the hamper—are done for the glory of God. God calls married couples to live in a radical way, putting the interests of their spouse and family ahead of their own.”
“The whole idea is to acknowledge that marriage is the foundation of the family and the stronger the marriages we have, the stronger our families can be, the stronger that our parish communities can be, the stronger that our whole society can be,” said Linda Ji, Director of the Office for Family Life.
Couples who registered for the Mass had the opportunity to share private prayer intentions that would be delivered to Bishop Nguyen.
“Couples carry all kinds of joys and burdens and challenges from their family life, and they’re able to offer those at this Mass, and that’s a beautiful opportunity,” said Ji.
After the Mass, Ji took the opportunity to acknowledge both the couples who were celebrating many decades of married life, and the couples who had been married recently.
“It becomes a space where younger couples can also see, hey, it is possible to stay married for decades. It is possible to make it through these hard times,” said Ji.
Arturo Diaz and his wife Andrea were among the couples married longest, having celebrated their 60th anniversary in 2025.
“We were married at St. Columban Filipino Catholic Church in Los Angeles on Feb. 19, 1965,” Arturo described. “I met my wife in Long Beach…My aunt arranged the meeting. We spent the entire day exploring the local sites, conversing and dining. Andrea then brought me to meet her family. Andrea and I communicated by phone and letter writing, while I continued attending classes at UC Berkeley. After four months of long-distance relationship, we both decided to get married.”
Sixty years later, Arturo and Andrea have three children, six grandchildren and one great-granddaughter.
Isabella Prause and her husband Trevor were among the newly married, celebrating a year and a half together.
“This is our first time coming together to the cathedral,” he explained. “I think I came here like 10 years ago for my first retreat. So I feel like it was just a big full circle moment for me to come back with my husband. I mean, just getting this blessing is just so special and I really feel like it strengthened our marriage more. We have a baby on the way too, so it’s extra special, and just being able to bring us closer together, because you know times obviously can get hard. We’re still very new to marriage, but as much as we can put God in our relationship that really is what means most to us.”
For couples who are new to the married life, Ji has been working to create space for them to find community and support. On Jan. 23, the Office for Family Life hosted a holy hour and dinner event specifically for engaged couples and newlyweds.
Jan. 23 marks the lesser known and formerly celebrated Feast of the Espousals (honoring the marriage between the Virgin Mary and Joseph). It was traditionally celebrated before Vatican II and it is still observed by certain religious groups and regions today, but it is no longer on the General Roman Calendar.
Ji explained how the feast “sheds light on what God can be doing in these families during this really beautiful early period of their marriage.”
She added, “There aren’t a lot of spaces in the Catholic Church right now that serve those particular people in that phase of life. We have campus ministries or young adult ministries out there. And then we have marriage and family, maybe school age children opportunities. But there’s kind of a gap in between.”
The guided holy hour was presided over by Fr. Ian Gaston. Afterwards, the group enjoyed a family-style dinner and a guest speaker.
“These couples had to give up a Friday night, which is pretty precious,” said Ji. “But it seemed like the feedback was pretty positive. So we’ll either try it again at the diocesan level or we hope that some of our parishes would host something similar.”
Ji highlighted the many marriage enrichment opportunities presented by the Office for Family Life, and encouraged couples to take advantage of these regardless of what season their relationship might be in.
“I always like to encourage couples to not wait until the crisis to work on your marriage. I compare it to wellness checkups with your doctor. We’re supposed to go every year to make sure we’re doing okay. Just because you go to the doctor doesn’t mean you’re actually sick. You just want to make sure you’re on the right track.”
“Ultimately, being faithful to marriage vows—promising to be true in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health—is a powerful witness to the sanctity of commitment in a society with a high divorce rate,” Bishop Nguyen concluded in his homily. “This faithfulness reflects the loyalty of Jesus to the Heavenly Father.”
Couples in the Orange County Diocese can look ahead to a variety of upcoming events from the Office for Family Life, including communication skills workshops, information sessions on annulments, a post-abortion healing retreat and a retreat for healthcare professionals. Visit rcbo.org/familylife for more information and scheduling.