Auxiliary Bishop Myron J. Cotta congratulates Alberto and Luz Arcaya of St. Peter-All Hallows Parish in Sacramento on 73 years of marriage during the World Marriage Day Mass held at the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament in Sacramento on Feb. 24. They were honored as the couple married for the most number of years who attended the Mass. They have attended the annual Mass for the past 11 years.
During the Mass, some 150 couples celebrating milestone wedding anniversaries were honored, received a special blessing and had the opportunity to renew their vows.
The Arcayas, both 95, will celebrate 73 years of marriage on April 23. They met in the Philippines during World War II, when Alberto was fighting as a guerilla and Luz was serving in the auxiliary to the guerillas. They married on a mountaintop in the Philippines in 1945 and went on to raise 10 children, nine of whom are still living and seven are married. Alberto and Luz have 21 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
In the early 1990s, the Arcayas moved to the United States and have been members of St. Peter-All Hallows Parish since 1994.
Photo courtesy of Edgar Hilbert