RCTY Friends Album

Kari, You look mighty fancy in your picture! Were you at a wedding? (Aren't I nosey? LOL)

Janise

:o) I know the answer, but I'll let Kari answer this herself. I know when I saw the picture I thought she looked classy enough to have an audience with the Queen. :o)

Gemini

Hi (not nosey) Folks. The picture was taken at my son=B4s wedding in Italy. So I had to try and look like his mother and not his Sister (dreaming here). He had a Formal Affair - the thing on my head was the closest I could find to a suitable "hat" in Spain. For that day I was the Queen - if only by way of the fact that I had produced the Prince Charming that married the Princess.

Wow, Kari, that must have been very exciting! Your hat is very chic! When was the wedding? Is your son's wife Italian? Do they live in Italy now? (Inquiring minds want to know - Well, at least 1. LOL)

The Biggest Busybody of all,

Janise

hehehe Janise is not afraid to ask questions! ;o)

I thought you looked very elegant in that picture, Kari! :o)

Gemini

Janise, The Young Couple are both English and live in England. They tried to get married here where I live, but this area is VERY religious and the bride is not Catholic. The English weather (in July 2005) could not guarantee sunshine so they went to Italy. Lots of the family members used the excuse to extend the stay and take their Summer Holiday at the same time. As the Bride & Groom have been living together for 10 years - having us all hanging around on their Honeymoon was no problem. We were all at different Hotels and met up for lunch sometimes, then travelled to England on the same flight. DH & I spent a couple of days visiting the Grandchildren and friends then we came back home to Spain.

I don't get it. Does this mean there wasn't a church other than a Catholic church or what? However, getting married in Italy sounds wonderful.

Shelagh

Never having been to Spain, I wouldn't know the definite answer to this question and look forward to Kari's response. However, depending on how large the place is, it is possible that there is only one church there... and not so much in North America... but some of the churches in Europe are stricter than here, and therefore if the couple wanted to be married in a Catholic church the church rules may be that one or both people should belong to the religion.

*shrug* When I got married in the Catholic church... I was (still am) a Catholic, but my ex-husband wasn't... the churches here are more lenient. :o)

Of course, my answer is likely waaay off base, so we'll see what Kari's response is. ;o)

Gem

It sounds wonderful. And belated congratulations!

Janise

Probably not. Spain is a VERY Catholic country. They spent centuries throwing out everybody with another religion, like the muslims in 1492 and the jews on several occasions. Even until 1975 when Franco died, you could better not show if you had a different idea about this.

But also in the rest of Europe, you will not find a choice of churches in every town. Most places have one religion, catolic or not, and that is it. Of course there are others but you have to look carefully to find them.

Ria

Wow, I didn't know that about Spain... throwing out other religions, I mean! That's a wee bit drastic not to allow people to have their own beliefs or ideas throughout an entire country. Sounds like a dictatorship! :o/

But I did notice when I was in England... the small village I was staying in to the north of London, like you said, only had one church that I saw. Funny, I never really thought about it while I was there... and not really until I just read what you wrote. I had to pass that one church on the way to and from the train each day... and it was, thinking back, the only church I saw in the entire village. I have no idea which religion it was... I don't pay attention to that sort of thing... I just thought it looked like a nice little church, and it had a graveyard that seemed to surround the entire church.

Speaking of churches... while I was in England, another friend met me in the next small village south of where I was staying and took me to Cambridge (where he lives) for the day to show me around. As we came around one corner there was a *round* church, and I laughed and said "You HAVE to take my picture in front of this church so I can show my Mom!" Someone had once asked my Mom what church she belonged to, and goofing around (as she often did) she answered "I belong to the *round* church, where the devil can't corner me!" So my picture in front of a *round* church in Cambridge really hit her funny! LOL

Gem

LOL! This reminds me of a round church I saw in Rome years ago. It was called Santo Stefano Rotundo. My Dad's name is Stephen (Stefan) and he always used to say he was a saint because he lived with two women! At that time he had put on a nice paunch and was looking definitely round, so I teased him that we'd found his personal church and he was obviously

*officially* recognised as a saint for putting up with Mum and me!

Thanks for the memory Gem!

Eimear

LOL That's a good one... I love it! Thank you too, Eimear! ;o)

Gem

Ria how are you, great to see you back.

I would say the more North you go in Europe the more choices you can make religion wise. The Netherlands being one of the most progressive countries in the world as far as that goes. However having said that I do know that there are still small villages where there can be one dominant church. But that is not meant to stop anyone in that village from having a choice, or even not having a church wedding at all. It is the law in Holland that you can have a civil marriage in any City Hall. Going more South in Europe, this will change from country to country, and most likely also from bigh city to small towns.

Els

In our medium sized village we have 4 churches, Anglican & Methodist & Evangelical Free (all Protestant) and a Roman Catholic church. So there's a big choice. Also you can get married in the Register Office in the nearest big town and in any number of mansion houses in the area. You just need enough money to pay for it all; just guess how I know that!! Love & higs Christine

Gem, You are 90% correct. In this area of Spain they are VERY strict when it comes to marriage. BOTH have to be Catholic and show Certificates of Baptism. There is only 1 church in each village. One can get a non-Catholic priest to come to the area, but the marriage would have to be at a Hotel or similar venue. Maybe 1 in every 30 people here can speak a little English (learnt in school), so having understanding of what you are saying "I do" to is another obstacle. If we were in a "Tourist" area there would be no problem at all, but that is not what we chose when we moved here.

Well, it *was* a dictatorship at that time, with the Catholic kings of the 15th century as well as with Franco in the 20th. Ria

8<

That is true,Els. But you don't have to go farther south than Belgium to find and almost all Catholic country. The village I live in has 5 churches but all of them are Catholic.

Officially all religions are allowed now, of course, but only in the bigger towns you will find other churches. Apart from Brussels and Antwerp, I know of a buddhist group in the Ardennes and a Greek-orthodox church in Limburg, where you will find a lot of people who came from Greece to Belgium to work in the coal mines. And that is it. Ria