Sunday, July 3, 2011

Monaco's Princely Wedding



I enjoyed watching the wedding of Prince Albert of Monaco to the former Miss Wittstock, now Princess Charlene. It was held in the palace rather than in the cathedral, for reasons of space. I was impressed by the serenity and recollection of the new princess during the nuptial mass. A recent Catholic convert, it is my impression that Princess Charlene has wholeheartedly embraced her new faith. The gown was simple but utterly exquisite; the prince had trouble keeping his eyes off of his bride during the ceremony. The first reading was from the Book of Tobias, about the wedding of Tobias and Sarah. Tobias, after a long search for a bride, finds his lady at last, and they pray together before consummating their union. (Tobias 8:4-10)

According to Hello! Magazine:
 The courtyard had been turned into an open-air cathedral, where Monseigneur Bernard Barsi, Archbishop of Monaco, was to conduct a Catholic wedding mass consecrating her marriage to the Monegasque sovereign.

With her head ever so slightly bowed, but with a composed smile on her face, the 33-year-old, who was raised thousands of miles away in a humble South African family, looked like she had been born to the role.

Watching her every step intently were the 3,500-strong congregation; plus 800 more celebrities, royals and family members who had been ushered into the inner courtyard.

And millions more – watching on TV screens and through the internet across the globe - witnessed her life-changing journey down the red carpet.
Before making their wedding vows the couple were asked to renew their baptismal vows. I have never seen that done before. May God bless them with many happy years! More commentary, HERE, from Mad for Monaco.


(Photos: HERE and HERE) Share

3 comments:

Julygirl said...

Would have liked to have attended this summer's Royal Weddings. Inspiring.

Dymphna said...

Poor woman. Grace's son grew up to be terribly irresponsible.

elena maria vidal said...

At least he pays child support. But I do worry about him straying again. There was gossip that Charlene heard that he has a third child by his girlfriend on the way and she was quite upset.