History is made in Mayo church as five couples marry in joint service

In what was a first for the parish of Ballyhaunis, five couples celebrated a joint wedding service in St Patrick’s Church last Saturday. 

The wedding of ten members of the local Brazilian community was described by parish priest Fr Stephen Farragher as a “blessed and historic day in Ballyhaunis parish". Brazilian man Wando Araujo, who is a Catholic Church deacon, officiated at the ceremony. 

“It was absolutely a record for the parish," explained Fr Stephen Farragher. "I’ve never been present when there was more than one bride and groom.

“Irene Riginaldo, our [Brazilian] sacristan, led prayers with a group of Brazilian ladies many of whom were finding it very lonely after arriving in Ballyhaunis. They would go to Irene’s house, usually on Friday evenings and pray. They also attended some retreats organised by the deacon Wando Araujo. They felt over time they wanted to be more in union with the church and while many of them had been married in civil services they wanted to marry in the church. That’s how it came about.”

The five couples are Valdinei Dias de Oliveira and Christina Caetano de Freitas; Renan Pereira Alves de Souza and Ana Paula Coutinho de Lima Roriz; Edgar Souza Santos and Valery Neri Goncalves; Eduardo Da Silva Diogo and Samira Soares Pereira; Vanderli Antonio dias de Oliveira and Ana Lúcia de Oliveira. The couples and their families celebrated afterwards in the Community Hall opposite the church.

Ballyhaunis is home to approximately 400 Brazilians, many of whom were contracted to work in the local Dawn Meats facility.