How Kyle & Karen built a marriage with Jesus at the center
By Hannah Dercks | For On Mission
Photography by Scott Eastman | For On Mission
GREEN BAY — Kyle and Karen Connery-Cendejas didn’t just say, “I do.” They let God lead them into a marriage built to shine.
In a world that can sometimes feel dark, love — especially love rooted in faith — shines the light of Christ for all to see. This is especially true for Kyle and Karen, a newlywed couple who participated in marriage preparation through the Diocese of Green Bay.
Their story started like other love stories. They met in middle school, became friends, and their relationship grew over the years. However, once Kyle proposed, the couple felt more than a call to be together. They also felt a call to pursue Jesus.
“When we got engaged, we knew that we wanted to get married in the Church, because we felt in our heart that that’s what God was calling us to,” Karen said.
Kyle and Karen share the love of Christ in all aspects of their lives. In addition to their marriage, they are active parishioners at SS. Peter and Paul Parish in Green Bay and are involved in young adult ministry. Kyle also serves as a catechist in the parish.
Karen, a cradle Catholic, and Kyle, a recent convert, knew they wanted to have Jesus at the center of their relationship.
“Through my conversion and truly understanding the Church’s view on what love and marriage actually mean, it really helped me understand and desire marriage even more,” Kyle said. “I converted in the middle of our engagement, so it was definitely interesting, that shift. But understanding the Church’s view on love in terms of desiring the best for someone, desiring heaven for that person, and being able to support each other through that was definitely a very powerful point in my life.”
Over the course of their six years of dating, Kyle and Karen had conversations about what the future would look like. However, they knew that revisiting those topics is crucial for a successful marriage. They were eager to begin the marriage preparation course offered by the Diocese of Green Bay to discuss finances, parenting styles, communication and more.
“There [were] a lot of conversations that Karen and I had about different views on finances,” Kyle said. “Also, Karen and I had a lot of different views with our cultures.”
Thanks to support from the Bishop’s Appeal, the diocesan Office of Marriage and Family Life walks with couples on their relationship journeys through a marriage preparation course and retreat. A married couple, trained through the diocese by the Facilitating Open Couple Communication, Understanding and Study (FOCCUS) tool, connects with couples like Kyle and Karen as they prepare for the sacrament. The tool was designed by FOCCUS Marriage Ministries and is used in dioceses across the country.
“Marriage preparation really helped us to rekindle a lot of the earlier conversations we had before engagement,” Karen said. “Marriage preparation is something that we desire for everyone to go through, because it is a blessing, and it helped us really understand where we both were at and helped us discuss difficult topics. We also see the beauty of our same desire: a life with one another that puts Jesus in the center.”
“Marriage preparation from the diocese and the FOCCUS couple in particular … helped us grow in communication, finances, prayer, and just all the overall aspects of our faith,” Kyle said. “They helped us grow closer and be more inspired by God.”
Carla Ferrando-Bowling, director of the Office of Marriage and Family Life, sees how marriages like Kyle and Karen’s embrace Christ-centered living in northeastern Wisconsin.
“I have the joy to witness how couples are growing in their relationships,” Ferrando-Bowling said. “[The] support of the Bishop’s Appeal helps us to make this possible, so they can keep Jesus at the foundation for their marriages.”
Kyle and Karen were married on June 14, 2025, at St. Joseph Parish in Pilsen by Fr. José López Vargas, pastor of SS. Peter and Paul Parish. The bilingual ceremony incorporated the couple’s devout faith and cultures, and the wedding lasso further represented their unity as a married couple in the Catholic Church.
In addition, Fr. Vargas’ homily touched Kyle and Karen’s hearts, reminding them of the lessons they learned through their diocesan marriage preparation.
“Fr. José reminded us that marriage is a kind of funeral — dying to ourselves to become one — and through that surrender, Kyle and I found the light of unity, faith, and a love that continues to grow,” Karen said.
Through the support of the Bishop’s Appeal, more than 100 couples — including Kyle and Karen — attended diocesan marriage retreats or participated in marriage preparation to learn how to let the Holy Spirit guide their marriages.
“We would like to thank everyone who’s contributed toward the Bishop’s Appeal and toward marriage preparation in particular,” Kyle said. “All the factors that have gone into our engagement through our preparation have put us into the strong place we are now.”
The couple actively pursues Jesus and each other, allowing his love to shine through their relationship every day.
“[Kyle is] a light in my life every day by his actions and how he speaks to others about our faith,” Karen said “I see how passionate he is about his faith and wanting that for others.”
“I see a lot of light in Karen,” Kyle said. “Even early on in our relationship, I knew she was very passionate about her faith. That always inspires me every day.”
Not only did Kyle and Karen receive preparation for their wedding day, but they also vowed to live out the vocation of marriage. In the post-synodal apostolic exhortation, Amoris laetitia, Pope Francis said that marriage is a “project to be worked on together” and a “process of growth.”
Support of the Bishop’s Appeal allows couples in northeastern Wisconsin to participate in diocesan marriage-enrichment retreats, so they can reflect the light of Christ by strengthening their call to be a communion of persons, a domestic church and a sign of Christ’s love to the world.
As their love grows through their faith-filled marriage, Kyle and Karen are looking forward to an additional blessing: the birth of their first child in April 2026.
Their journey is a testament to what’s possible when couples invite Christ into their relationships. This creates a love that not only endures but also radiates hope, unity and God’s grace for generations to come.
Thanks to the generosity of thousands of families and individuals, couples like Kyle and Karen can experience the light of Christ in their marriage. The 2026 Bishop’s Appeal kicks off February 7-8, 2026, supporting vital ministries such as the Office of Marriage and Family Life, Catholic Charities, parish faith formation programs, Catholic schools and many others that accompany people of all ages on their faith journeys.
To learn more, visit catholicfoundationgb.org/2026-bishops-appeal.