Pope Francis Marries Couple on Papal Plane in Chile
Daily Mail UK, 18 Jan 2018.
Pope Francis has celebrated the first-ever airborne papal wedding, marrying two flight attendants from Chile’s flagship airline during a flight from Santiago.
Bride Paola Podest and groom Carlos Ciuffardi said “I do” after telling Francis that they had been married in a civil service in 2010.
However, they said they were unable to follow up with a church ceremony because of the 2010 earthquake that hit Chile.
Flight attendants Carlos Ciuffardi and Paola Podest (Alessandra Tarantino/AP)
Francis then offered to marry the LATAM flight attendants aboard the aircraft en route to the northern city of Iquique, and they both readily agreed.
The head of the airline served as the witness.
Pope Francis marries flight attendants Carlos Ciuffardi, left, and Paola Podest, center, during a flight from Santiago, Chile, to Iquique, Chile, Thursday, Jan. 18, 2018.
Pope Francis celebrated the first-ever airborne papal wedding, marrying these two flight attendants from Chile's flagship airline during the flight.
The couple had been married civilly in 2010, however, they said they couldn't follow-up with a church ceremony because of the 2010 earthquake that hit Chile. (L'Osservatore Romano Vatican Media/Pool Photo via AP)
Mr Ciuffardi told journalists in the aisle of the Airbus 321 that Francis told him it was “historic”, and no pope had ever before married a couple aboard a plane.