Celebrating the Joys of 18 years of Marriage - A Blessed celebration and an Invitation from John & Ashley!

This month (Feb 1) John and Ashley celebrated eighteen years of grace, friendship, laughter, trials, mercy, and joy.

The special day was celebrated with Mass at the Basilica of the Twelve Apostles (Santi Apostoli). It is run by the Franciscans so the basilica offered their guests the opportunity to receive the special Franciscan Jubilee Indulgence — a gift of mercy woven into a day rich with meaning.

At Mass, John and Ashley received a special blessing from Fr. Joseph Royan of Bangalore, a priest from the same Redemptorist community and a friend of the priest who married them, Fr. Clement Campos, 18 years ago in Bangalore, India at the church of St. Patrick.

After Mass, surrounded by dear friends, John and Ashley renewed what they had done on their wedding day: they consecrated their marriage to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and invited all their guests to consecrate themselves as well. Together with their guests, they entrusted their love, once again, to the Heart that has sustained it from the beginning. They also shared a glimpse of their love story with their friends.

The celebration continued with coffee and fellowship at Palazzo Buonaparte with conversation, laughter, and friendship.

Eighteen years in, John and Ashley are more convinced than ever that marriage is not something a couple just “figures out once,” but a living vocation that deepens when it is continually returned to God.

That conviction is at the heart of the Joy of Marriage Immersion they will be hosting this fall in Rome with The Truth & Beauty Project. The Immersion flows directly from wisdom and lived experience, from a marriage consecrated, tested, healed, celebrated, and renewed again and again.

Whether you are:

1. married and longing to rediscover joy,

2. engaged and preparing your hearts, or

3. discerning the call to marriage at all,

this Immersion is an invitation to encounter beauty and to let God re-center love where it belongs, in His Heart.

Years before this anniversary Mass in Rome, John and Ashley’s story became solidified in a quiet chapel back in the United States. After Mass on the feast of Christ the King at the Church of Christ the King in Springfield, IL, John led Ashley into the Blessed Sacrament Chapel and, with a series of symbolic gifts that engaged the senses and the soul, asked her to become his wife.

It was a proposal rooted in prayer, meaning, and intentionality and a foreshadowing of the way their marriage would be lived.

Eighteen years later, standing in a Roman basilica with friends gathered and hearts lifted, that same “yes” echoed again, filled with gratitude.

Join us for our upcoming

Marriage Immersion!

The Joy of Marriage Immersion is not about having a perfect marriage. It’s about discovering the joy that flows when love is rooted in Christ, nourished by beauty, and strengthened by truth.

As this anniversary reminds us: Marriage is worth celebrating. Love is worth renewing. And joy is meant to be shared.

We can’t wait to welcome you to Rome this fall!

Click the link below to learn more about it!

LEARN MORE HERE!