Mandaue mass wedding sees 48 couples say ‘I do’

Cristo Cris Sungahid, 53, walked in crutches with his partner, Gomerzenda, down the aisle of the National Shrine of St. Joseph in Mandaue City.
The two have been living together for 29 years but finally got wed in church in yesterday’s mass wedding sponsored by the Mandaue city government.
Cristo, a jeepney driver who lost his right leg last year due to diabetes, told Cebu Daily News that he was extremely happy they were finally married in church.

“I can’t explain how I feel. It really is different when you are married in church,” he said.

“Married life is not a joke. You need to fulfill your vows to the Lord. Even though my husband has lost a leg, I am still here serving him,” a teary-eyed Gomerzenda said.

The couple said they have been longing for a church wedding since they wanted God to bless them.

“But we could not get around to a church wedding with five children and financial problems,” Gomerzenda said.

Gomerzenda told CDN that she and Cristo started living together when she was 19 after she got pregnant with their eldest daughter. 

Gomerzenda’s family pressed them to get married in church while Cristo’s family advocated a civil wedding.
The couple planned to get married after the first baby was born but this did not happen.

Now that four of their children finished school and the fifth is in her third year in college, they found no more reason to postpone a church wedding.
The newlyweds and their five children celebrated simply in a grill house in barangay Guizo.

Also among the newlyweds were Robert Lim Judilla and his wife Janice who have been together for eight years and have five children.
Judilla was detained for a drug-related case but was released yesterday through a court order.

Forty-eight couples were wed in the mass wedding that was officiated by Msgr. Arturo Navales.

Officials led by Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes and his wife Sarah Walker witnessed the event.

Originally, 51 couples were scheduled to tie the knot but a pair failed to complete their requirements while another could not agree on what gown the bride should wear.

Cortes said Mandaue City started sponsoring yearly mass weddings since 2007.

“What will happen to the family if there is no morality?” he said.

“We should always put the Lord at the center of our lives.”