Vatican City, Sep 14, 2014 / 06:59 am
"Marriage is a symbol of life... the Sacrament of love of Christ and the Church, a love which finds its proof and guarantee in the Cross."
This was the central theme of Pope Francis' homily for the feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, delivered moments before presiding over the marriages of 20 couples from the Diocese of Rome.
The weddings, which took place in Saint Peter's Basilica on Sunday morning in the presence of family and loved ones, come just weeks before the Synod on the Family is set to begin in the Vatican.
"The love of Christ, which has blessed and sanctified the union of husband and wife," the Pope said in his homily, "is able to sustain their love and to renew it when, humanly speaking, it becomes lost, wounded or worn out. The love of Christ can restore to spouses the joy of journeying together."