Bishop Persico presides over Milestone Anniversary Celebration Mass

Sunday afternoon was a momentous occasion for a number of couples from the community and throughout the area as they joined together at St. Mary’s Church for a Milestone Anniversary Celebration Mass presided over by The Most Reverend Lawrence T. Persico, Bishop of Erie.

The Mass was one of two currently scheduled by the Diocese of Erie to celebrate couples celebrating milestone anniversaries of 25 or more years. The other Mass is scheduled to be held at Holy Cross Parish in Fairview on Aug. 7.

In his homily on Sunday, Persico credited the couples for the examples of fidelity, love, and sacrifice that they have set in their years of married life.

Persico also noted that Christian marriage “is described as so holy a mystery that it symbolizes the marriage of Christ and his church, an image of the covenant between God and his people.”

“What we celebrate today is an example of how your lives and your marriages of 25, 50, or more years are not merely endurance and determination but the mystery of God’s love for his creation and how that love is revealed and lived,” Persico said.

Addressing each of the couples present, Persico spoke about struggles and challenges that come with marriage.

“As you reflect on your years of marriage, the stories and events that are likely racing through your minds and hearts hardly reflect the naïve, storybook, ideal, or fairytale notion of your relationship,” Persico said. “Quite the contrary – your stories and lives reflect hard work, struggle and pain, suffering and joy, and a selflessness that seeks the wellbeing of another. Your marriage has endured because you have come to see it as a part of something much bigger than yourselves.”

Following the homily, Persico gave each of the couples an anniversary blessing. He led the members of each couple in renewing their commitment to one another and then concluded with a blessing of rings.

Persico then presented each couple in attendance with a scroll recognizing

their anniversary milestone.

Couples celebrating milestone anniversaries were as follows:

Sixth-seventh anniversary

· Mr. and Mrs. Marvin Riddle, Queen of the World Parish, St. Marys

Sixty-sixth anniversary

· Mr. and Mrs. James Donahue, Saint Mary Parish, St. Marys

· Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Piccirillo, Saint Leo Magnus Parish, Ridgway

Sixty-fifth anniversary

· Mr. and Mrs. Dominic Barilar, Ss. Cosmas & Damian Parish, Punxsutawney

· Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Brennen, Queen of the World Parish, St. Marys

· Mr. and Mrs. Allen Klaiber, St. Mary Parish, St. Marys

· Mr. and Mrs. Edward Pasi, Saint Boniface Parish, Kersey

Sixty-fourth anniversary

· Mr. and Mrs. Robert Kerner, Queen of the World Parish, St. Marys

Sixty-second anniversary

· Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Lynch, Sacred Heart Parish, St. Marys

· Mr. and Mrs. Edward Pisarchick, Saint Tobias Parish, Brockway

Sixtieth anniversary

· Mr. and Mrs. Frank Genevro, Saint Tobias Parish, Brockway

· Mr. and Mrs. David Gutowski, Saint Boniface Parish, Kersey

· Mr. and Mrs. James Iannuzzi Jr., Saint Callistus Parish, Kane

· Mr. and Mrs. Louis Monti, Saint Francis of Assisi Parish, Bradford

· Mr. and Mrs. Fred L. Neiswender, Saint Francis of Assisi Parish, Clearfield

Fifty-second anniversary

· Mr. and Mrs. Anthony Sack, Church of the Beloved Disciple Parish, Grove City Fiftieth anniversary · Mr. and Mrs. Gary Byers, Notre Dame Parish, Hermitage

· Mr. and Mrs. James Cheatle, Sacred Heart Parish, St. Marys

· Mr. and Mrs. Paul Curcio Jr., Saint Bernard of Clairvaux Parish, Bradford

· Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Emerick, Saint Catherine of Siena Parish, Dubois

· Mr. and Mrs. Larry Fledderman, Saint Titus Parish, Titusville

· Mr. and Mrs. Richard Ingram III, Saint Francis of Assisi Parish, Clearfield

· Mr. and Mrs. Francis Inzana, Saint Tobias Parish, Brockway

· Mr. and Mrs. Aldon Mazzoni, Saint Tobias Parish, Brockway

· Mr. and Mrs. Bob Miller, Sacred Heart Parish, St. Marys

· Mr. and Mrs. John Petrucci, Saint Mary Parish, St. Marys

· Mr. and Mrs. Bernard Ropchock, Immaculate Conception Parish, Osceola Mills

· Mr. and Mrs. Robert J. Werner, Saint Mary Parish, St. Marys

· Mr. and Mrs. Russell Withrow, Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish, Sykesville

Fortieth anniversary

· Mr. and Mrs. Michael Chestnut, Immaculate Conception Parish, Brookville

· Mr. and Mrs. Terry Laukitis, Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish, Sykesville

· Mr. and Mrs. Donald Myers, Saint Mary

Parish, St. Marys

· Mr. and Mrs. William Olson, Saint Mary Parish, St. Marys

· Mr. and Mrs. Glenn Solic, Saint Mary Parish, St. Marys

Twenty-fifth anniversary

· Mr. and Mrs. Mark Decker, Saint Boniface Parish, Kersey

· Mr. and Mrs. William

Muth, Saint Timothy Parish, Curwensville

· Mr. and Mrs. Ronald Reiter, Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish, Sykesville

· Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Silveri, Saint Mary Parish, St. Marys

Following the Mass, a reception was held in the parish's social hall.

Photo by Becky Polaski Bishop Lawrence T. Persico presents Mr. and Mrs. James Iannuzzi Jr. with a scroll in honor of their 60th wedding anniversary during a Milestone Anniversary Celebration Mass held at St. Mary’s Church in St. Marys on Sunday afternoon.