Each year, Our Lady of Light hosts an Anniversary Dinner to celebrate couples in our family of parishes who have been married for 25, 30, 40, 50+ years with a celebration of the Mass with a complimentary dinner following. Among the 70+ couples who RSVPd this year, the longest married couple in attendance has been happily married for 66 years!

Our seasoned couples have gone through many trials and triumphs. What they have experienced in life serve as inspiration for all, especially newer couples who have only just begun their lives together. We asked those who were registered for the event if they had any advice to share, and their thoughtful answers showcased just how beautiful marriage is when Christ is at the center. Here is what they had to say:

Daniel and Mary Beth Hutcheson, married 55 years

• Keep your family small and close to you (we had four children, but came from families of nine or six children).
• Family comes first.
• Life is a journey – be a loving servant to one another.

Ben and Brenda Carter, married 25 years

• ​​Expect the unexpected. Life throws crazy curveballs sometimes that can truly test our strength and faith. It is during these most challenging times that we need to lean into each other and God to carry us through.

​Richard and Carolyn Bradfield, married 65 years

• Remembering our wedding vows from the day of marriage: To have and to hold, for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, in good times and bad, until death do us part. We encountered every one of these circumstances during our 65 years other than one of our deaths. We did experience the death of our 38 year old special needs son some years ago. It is our love that grew and matured that enabled us to meet all situations.  A very special day is our Anniversary when my husband gives me one red rose for every year that we have been married; it began with one on our first anniversary and will be 65 on August 20.  Thanks be to God.

Jordan and Patricia Vangel, married for 25 years

• Never go to bed mad with each other.

Jerry and Bette Kronenberg, married 50 years

• Marriage is give and take but it works really well if you give more than you take with kindness. Don't keep score of who do what or who does more. Enjoy each and every day. 

Bill and Linda Simonton, married 55 years

• I would tell them that it seems that it can't have already been 55 years. Cherish each other. (And keep a diary!)

Gary and Carol Vance, married 56 years

• Try to develop patience and perseverance in your marriage. Remember your sacramental vows in the hard times.

By Matthew Himes

At the end of July, directly after a packed yet incredibly fulfilling week of fun with our high school teens at Life Teen’s Camp Covecrest in Tiger, Georgia, I got on a plane to fly directly to Rome. I had the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to spend eight days in Rome to participate in the Jubilee of Young Adults with a group of over twenty other young adults coming from various Marianist backgrounds from across the United States – primarily from the University of Dayton as well as from the San Antonio and Honolulu areas.

This Jubilee of Young Adults was a part of the 2025 “Pilgrims of Hope” Jubilee Year declared by Pope Francis in December, and it gathered over one million young adults from across the world to have an opportunity to have dialogue with one another and participate in Vatican programming together for the Jubilee. Above all, this experience instilled a vibrant hope in my life - both a personal hope as I continue to navigate my own spiritual life and my own future beyond my undergraduate studies at the University of Dayton, but also an immensely increased sense of hope for the future of the Catholic Church and the active role that we as young people are called to play in it.

Some highlights of the Jubilee programming included a group pilgrimage into St. Peter’s basilica, an opening Mass in St. Peter’s square, and a Sunday Mass with over one million people from across the world celebrated by Pope Leo XIV. In addition to this Jubilee programming, our group also had the wonderful opportunities to explore the city of Assisi, visit many cultural and spiritual sites around Rome, and gather as a group of over 200 Marianist young adults from across the world to share our own experiences with one another and grow in understanding of the Maranists in a global context. Having the opportunity to share in all this Jubilee with others from around the world is an experience that I will truly cherish for the rest of my life. Despite individuals coming from different places with varying languages, cultures, and backgrounds, there was an overwhelming sense of unity amongst all gathered because of the faith we hold in common. This unity brings me hope for the future of our greater Church community but also for our own parish community here at Our Lady of Light.

​As we as staff and parishioners continue to strive for community that is rooted in hospitality and love at Our Lady of Light, my time in Rome will continue to act as a beacon of hope that unity is possible, and each of us has an active role to play in it.