40 marry en masse to celebrate holy day

FUQUAY-VARINA -- A single drum pounded like a heartbeat as the 20 brides filed into the sanctuary Wednesday night, a statue of the virgin held aloft behind them.

They came to marry before God on what is, for Mexicans, one of the holiest days of the year -- the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, as the Virgin Mary is known in Mexico.

Across the state, Mexicans gathered in churches for a day of music, traditional dances and prayer.

North Carolina churches began celebrating the feast day in the past 15 years, as the number of Mexicans in the state has multiplied. The U.S. Census estimates that 398,000 Mexicans lived in North Carolina in 2006, up from 246,500 in the 2000 census.

On Wednesday, more than 30 churches held special celebrations. But St. Bernadette Catholic Church this year put a unique twist on the celebration: 20 couples married during the evening Mass as more than 1,000 faithful watched.

Many had been married in civil unions for years but were participating for the first time in the religious sacrament of marriage.

Juan Martinez, 61, and his wife, Evangelina, married 37 years ago in Mexico. He said they couldn't have a church wedding because his wife's parents, angry over the union, refused to give their blessing.

For years, Martinez said, his wife has longed for a Catholic wedding. Then, during Mass in early September, Father Marco Antonio Gonzalez invited all those who wanted to be married on the feast day to see him.

They were among 35 couples who flooded his office and among 20 who completed the six required three-hour classes.

They walked arm-in-arm to the front of the church with seven grandchildren and four of their five grown children watching.

"This is something my mom's always wanted," said their son, Adrian Martinez, 31, of Cary.

Many of the older brides wore sensible white suits, but the younger women arrived in sequined gowns, tiaras and veils.

"They're offering their marriage to the Lady of Guadalupe," said Gonzalez, who officiated. "For Mexicans, the Virgin of Guadalupe is like our second mother."

In June, Gonzalez, 33, became the first Mexican-born priest ordained in the Catholic Diocese of Raleigh, which encompasses North Carolina's 54 eastern counties.

Marriage is a strong tradition among Hispanics. In 2005, the Census Bureau reported that only 3.4 percent of Hispanics in North Carolina were divorced.

Gonzalez said many of his parishioners were married civilly but delayed church weddings, thinking they would eventually hold them in Mexico. From this year forward, he said, he will encourage couples to seal their unions in church on the feast day.

Day began early

In North Carolina, the faithful began the day as early as 3 a.m., gathering for "las mananitas" to sing hymns to the virgin. They returned in the evening to walk in processions that follow the Virgin's statue and to celebrate Mass.

At St. Bernadette, the 20 couples, led by dancers in towering feathered headdresses and trailed by a crowd carrying a statue of the Virgin, wound through the church parking lot before cramming into the church for Mass.

A river of parishioners overflowed the sanctuary and filled the lobby.

The weddings were dispatched quickly, with the couples sliding rings onto fingers en masse, the Virgin's statue watching from beneath an arch of flowers.

They formed a crowd at the front of the sanctuary, their relatives gathering around them to snap photographs. They exchanged Spanish vows in unison, while the cries of dozens of children echoed in the rafters.

Bishop Michael Burbidge blessed the unions, and they were sealed without so much as a kiss.

Saul Patino and Juana Perez were among them. They have been married civilly for eight years and have a 2-year-old son.

Patino said he didn't think much would change for them, but Perez disagreed.

"I have God in my house," she said. "For me, it's better."