Celebration of World Day of Marriage 

GUYANA

World Day of Marriage, observed each year on the second Sunday of February, invites couples and communities around the globe to pause and reflect on the meaning, strength, and enduring promise of marriage.

In his message for this year’s celebration, Bishop Francis Alleyne OSB of Georgetown situates the observance within the broader context of international awareness days, noting both their value and their deeper purpose.

“A quick Google search of ‘World Day’ celebrations reveals a very long list of topics that have been identified as worthy of attention,” he writes. “Marking a ‘World Day’ helps us to recall and renew what is vital about a particular concern, but it also invites us to recognise the threats, neglect, or decay that concern may be facing in our world today,” the Bishop said. The full text was published in diocesan weekly, Catholic Standard.

He explained that the origins of World Day of Marriage are rooted not in institutions but in the lived experience of married couples themselves. “The idea of a World Day of Marriage came from married couples themselves, who shared their vision with Church and civic leaders.” Their original proposal was that Valentine’s Day be known as ‘We Believe in Marriage Day’. The idea was later embraced by the Marriage Encounter Movement and gained wide support among couples both within and beyond that community.

“Eventually, the second Sunday of February was designated as World Day of Marriage—a day when people across the world are invited to pause, reflect, evaluate, and renew the institution, the tradition, and, from our faith perspective, the Sacrament of Marriage,” he states.

This year’s theme, Love One Another, taken from the Gospel of St John (15:12), places love at the centre of married life. Bishop Alleyne deepens the reflection by recalling the full command given by Christ: “As I have loved you.”

Placing the Gospel passage in its biblical setting, the message recalls Jesus speaking to His disciples at the Last Supper, just before His Passion. The disciples, he notes, would have remembered “the many ways Jesus showed love—His deep compassion as He healed, comforted, challenged, affirmed, and restored the people He encountered.”

He emphasises that Jesus’ love was transformative, observing that “in every encounter, Jesus left individuals and communities in a better state than He found them.”

At that moment, however, the disciples had not yet grasped the fullest meaning of Christ’s words. “What the disciples had not yet witnessed was the crucifixion, and the ultimate meaning of Jesus’ words: “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends’ (Jn 15:13).”

Drawing this reflection back to the lived reality of marriage, the message extends a word of encouragement to those at different stages of life. “On this World Day of Marriage—We Believe in Marriage Day—my word and wish go out to all married couples, to those preparing for marriage, and to those now widowed.”

Bishop Alleyne connects the self-giving love of Christ to the daily sacrifices and commitments that define married life. “Like the disciples, each of you has had some share in that love of which Jesus speaks: a love that gives of itself, that creates communion, and that allows life to expand and flourish.” The message concludes with a hopeful blessing and an invitation to renewal. “May you continue to grow in that love, to witness to it through your lives, and to renew your belief in the beauty and promise of marriage.”