A Journey Towards Marriage: A Personal Testimony

On September 8, 2012, the feast of the Nativity of Our Lady, His Imperial and Royal Highness Archduke Imre of Habsburg-Lorraine married Miss Kathleen Walker at St. Mary's Church in Washington, DC. Here is a quotation from a beautiful article on marriage preparation which the Archduke and his new Archduchess composed and released during their engagement:

Regardless of the rise of cohabitation as an alternative, the institution of marriage remains “a cornerstone of a successful society”.17 The family –through marriage–is indeed the primary place where children are loved by their parents, educated and able to learn about civic duties and good societal behavior. And as we have seen, cohabitation seems far from promoting this foundational institution. On the contrary, living together before a permanent commitment has proven to be detrimental to marriage.

In this sense, by harming the institution of marriage –“first cell of a society”in the words of Aristotle–, it is the society itself that suffers the dramatic consequences of cohabitation. Ironically enough, studies show it is often the children of separated or divorced parents who are more likely to engage in cohabitation as a ‘de-selection’process of their partners, which they hope will enable them to find the‘perfect’match to build a happy marriage.18 Like many young people, we both individually embarked on our dating lives with a goal of marriage. Now as we enter into our engagement, the next and last step to marriage, we would like to discuss some of our rationale for not only rejecting the increasingly de rigueur practice of cohabitation, but embarking on quite a different path. Like many millennial couples we see and feel the impact of rising divorce rates and the heartbreak of our friends and parents’friends suffering from the breakdown of their marriages.19

With this shared vision of marriage and the family in mind, when we began seriously contemplating our future together, we discovered that we both wanted a path that prepares us for a life marked by:

- service to each other, our children and our community;

- life-long, faithful and loving commitment to the health, happiness and personal growth of the other;

- responsibly discerning how our family can best build and contribute to our society.

We quickly decided that, far from cohabitation, these goals are best served living separately and focusing on self-discernment and improvement, and building a relationship based on friendship, love and communication before our wedding. (Read entire document.)

May God reward Their Imperial Highnesses with many blessings for the good example they have striven to give.

Some exquisite wedding photos are HERE. Share