92 Diocese of Green Bay couples were honored at anniversary Mass
Story and photography by Michael Cooney | For On Mission
GREEN BAY, WI — The sanctuary of St. Francis Xavier Cathedral was filled with joy, gratitude, and nearly a century’s worth of love stories on Saturday, September 6, 2025.
Ninety-two couples from across the Diocese of Green Bay gathered to celebrate milestone wedding anniversaries of 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60, 65, and 70 years at the annual Jubilarian Wedding Anniversary Mass, celebrated by Bishop David Ricken.
Together, their combined years of married life added up to an astonishing 4,175 years.
“It is such a beautiful gift you are giving,” Bishop Ricken told the couples. “Your years of faithfulness are not just for yourselves but for your families, your parishes, your communities, and for the Church.”
Bishop Ricken reflected on the sacramental life of marriage, pointing especially to the epiclesis — the moment in each sacrament when the Holy Spirit is invoked to bring grace.
“In marriage, that calling down of the Spirit happens not just once but again and again,” Bishop Ricken said. “Every day you renew your vows by the way you care for each other.”
As he looked out over the congregation, he reminded the couples that their witness is needed more than ever.
“In a world where promises are often broken, you show us what it means to persevere,” he said. “Thank you for saying yes — to God, to each other, and to the Church.”
Among those honored were Stanley and Norma Gazella of Prince of Peace Parish, Green Bay, celebrating 65 years of marriage. Their story began in 1958 when a relative introduced them at a gathering spot in Bellevue. Stanley still chuckles at his first impression: “She is a lot taller than me.”
Norma admitted she was cautious at first. “I wasn’t too sure about it all, but he seemed kind. He wasn’t pushy — just nice,” she said.
Stanley, on the other hand, was drawn to her words.
“She always had something to say,” he said. “I never had many words, but she kept the conversation going.”
Though they lived only 10 miles apart, dating wasn’t easy. “In those days, phone calls were long distance,” Stanley said. “So, we mostly saw each other on weekends.”
They married at St. Philip the Apostle Parish in Green Bay, surrounded by friends and family. Over the years, they belonged to several parishes before finding their spiritual home at Prince of Peace Parish.
“It’s such an engaging parish,” Norma said. “I hope we can stay there the rest of our lives.”
Together they raised three daughters and welcomed seven grandchildren — four of them adopted from China.
“Faith was a great part of our marriage,” Norma said. “We always went to church and brought the children with us.”
The Gazellas spent much of their married life running a dairy farm where they milked 45 cows.
“I took care of the farm, and she took care of the house,” Stanley said, before admitting with a laugh, “but she cleaned barns and hauled feed too.”
Asked about the secret of their 65 years, Stanley was plainspoken: “First of all, you’ve got to pick the right one. Find the right one, and then it’s not so bad.”
“We were lucky, I guess,” Norma added with warmth. “And I recommend it. Marriage is good.”
Also celebrating at the Mass were Deacon Daniel and Maria Garcia of St. Philip the Apostle Parish in Green Bay, who marked their 30th wedding anniversary this year.
The Garcias met in 1994. Daniel remembered being struck right away.
“She got my attention,” he said. “Sometimes you just know — like finding your other half, your half-orange.”
“The first day I saw him at my sister’s house, I thought I knew him,” Maria said. “I even asked, ‘He’s from our country, right?’ But no — he was from Zacatecas (Mexico), and I’m from Colima (Mexico). Still, I felt like I had met him before.”
From that first meeting, their friendship grew into love. Maria admired Daniel’s kindness, patience, and faith. Daniel admired Maria’s warmth and the way she welcomed people into her life.
Their wedding day at St. Philip the Apostle Parish remains vivid in their memory, not just for the celebration but for the sense of God’s blessing.
“The sacrament is more than just words,” Daniel said. “It is the Holy Spirit at work. That’s what (the) bishop reminded us today.”
Now, three decades later, they see their marriage as a vocation lived out daily in family and parish life.
“Faith keeps us together,” Maria said. “We pray together, and we serve the Church together. That is the heart of our marriage.”
The Gazellas’ 65 years and the Garcias’ 30 years may look different on the surface — one forged in the rhythm of farm life, the other woven into the ministry of a deacon’s household — but both tell the same story: that marriage, grounded in faith, is both resilient and fruitful.
Bishop Ricken reminded the couples gathered that marriage is not a one-time promise but a lifelong calling. Each day brings opportunities to call down the Holy Spirit anew — in small acts of kindness, in shared burdens, in the patient endurance of hardship and in the joyful celebration of family life, he said.
“You give us hope,” Bishop Ricken said. “In your fidelity, we see God’s fidelity. In your love, we see God’s love. Thank you for being living sacraments for all of us.”
The 92 couples processed out of the cathedral, holding hands, some walking slowly with canes, others with the light step of newlyweds — each a witness that the sacrament of marriage, lived faithfully, is truly a gift to the whole Church.
Click here to see more photos from the day: onmiss.io/anniversarymass2025
The annual Jubilarian Wedding Anniversary Mass is a diocesan event organized by the Office for Marriage and Family Life at the Diocese of Green Bay. Please contact the office at: marriageministries@gbdioc.org for any questions and to receive a “save the date” note for next year. The 2026 Diocese of Green Bay Jubilarian Wedding Anniversary Mass will be celebrated at St. Francis Xavier Cathedral, Green Bay, on Saturday September 12 at 11am.