Friday is ‘free wedding’ day at this parish

The Parish of San Pedro Bautista, Old Moriones, Ocampo offers weddings for indigent couples every Friday. (Photo: Fr. Eric Bobis)

OCAMPO, Camarines Sur – A parish in Old Moriones, Ocampo holds a regular wedding schedule for those who wish to have their union blessed as a sacrament even if they are strapped for cash. Parish priest Fr. Emmanuel Mojica thought of doing this so simple folks can avail of the Sacrament of Marriage sans lavish decorations and grandiosity but without losing the essentials of the sacrament.

On all Fridays of the month, the parish opens the said celebration to indigent couples. Following the same process and canonical requirements, the parish has celebrated the marriage of more than 20 couples in four months. “It’s a joyful celebration for me and my husband, Roberto. To have joined our love even in the simplest way. We realized love is not in the decorations but in the way we care and love,” said Maricel Sideco, a bride who got married on one such Friday in December.

Mojica thought of the program as a means to help address the increasing number of couples who choose to live-in or co-habitate without the Sacrament, especially for those whose reason for putting off getting married is financial.

After all, Canon law states that anyone who seeks to receive the Sacraments must not be deprived of them.

“It is a surprise for me to see the increase in the number of those who avail the Sacrament. It is inspiring to see people going back to the Church to receive the Sacrament because they think [and feel] they belong to the Church,” said Mylene Agravante, parish secretary.

The Parish of San Pedro Bautista, Old Moriones, Ocampo, celebrated its 20th parish fiesta last Feb. 5 and has began its Basic Ecclesiastical Communities (BEC) Program.