By Christina Gray
Four couples walked down a candlelit aisle at St. Robert Parish on July 18 where, after long civil marriages, they entered into the sacrament of holy matrimony in the presence of family, friends and fellow parishioners.
A parish-based ministry called ‘Project I Do’ helped make it possible.
“Today, the Church does not simply celebrate your wedding, she celebrates your courage, your perseverance, and your hope,” said Father Arnold Zamora, St. Robert’s pastor. “God’s grace has widely accompanied you all these years. May the Lord who has already walked with you in the past now strengthen your future through this sacrament.”
Project I Do is a parish-based initiative that helps Catholic couples navigate the real and perceived obstacles to being sacramentally married in the Catholic Church. Obstacles can include the cost of a church wedding and reception, preparation time, the gathering of documents, and presumptions or confusion about eligibility. The concept was believed to have been conceived by parish priests seeking to ameliorate the sharp decline in Catholic marriages over the past 5 to 6 decades.
For Jennifer and Gregg Adriano, Monique Financier and Rommel Silva, Romina Moncada and Carlos Santana, and Maria Yvette and Shiegfred Piano, the St. Robert’s event was the Catholic wedding they had always dreamed of but that felt out of reach to them at the time they married outside the Church. The ministry is ardently supported by parishioners, donors, and volunteers.
“We always planned to have a Church wedding later, but realized how expensive it is, so we never really got around to it,” said San Bruno resident Maria Yvette Piano. She and husband Sheigfred, married in a small, “practical” civil ceremony in 2016. She said Project I Do “lessened the financial stress” of a big Church wedding and “allowed us to focus more on the meaning of our wedding and our commitment to each other.”
Romina Moncada and Carlos Santana also chose a civil marriage in 2019.
“Although getting married in the Catholic Church had always been in my heart, we didn’t know where to begin,” said Moncada. “We were discouraged by the idea that a Church wedding would be expensive and complicated.”
The parents to three young sons began attending St. Robert Parish after moving to San Bruno in 2024. Moncada learned about Project I Do from Father Steward Wilber, and the couple forged ahead with guidance and support from the ministry. In the process, she and her husband both received the sacrament of confirmation.
“Receiving the sacrament of marriage has truly changed our lives,” she said. “I am now able to receive Holy Communion, which has brought me even closer to God.”
She and husband Carlos “feel more united in our faith and commitment to each other.”
Jennifer and Greggy Adriano of South San Francisco eloped in a civil ceremony in Maui in 2017. “We didn’t think we could get married in a Catholic Church until Project I Do,” said Jennifer, an alumna of St. Anne of the Sunset School. She was divorced with children from a previous marriage.
“Project I Do made it easy because of all their guidance,” she said. “They let us know exactly what we needed to do in order to make it happen.”
Cecile Sabater, coordinator of the Project I Do ministry told Catholic San Francisco that the parish’s former parochial vicar, Father Boie Espeleta (now serving at St. Patrick Parish) was instrumental in jumpstarting the ministry at St. Robert’s with enthusiastic support from Father Zamora. Father Espeleta had first implemented the ministry at St. Andrew Parish in Daly City when he served as parochial vicar. The ministry continues and also had a parish wedding this month.
Pastor Father Arnold Zamora said Project I Do is “truly one of the beautiful legacies he has left for our parish.”
Ed Hopfner, director of the office of marriage and family life said there is no list of parishes offering this type of ministry. Parishes seem to be taking the concept and running it with it under their own steam. He said that St. Robert Parish in San Bruno, St. Andrew in Daly City, St. Thomas More Parish and St. Peter parishes in San Francisco all have this ministry, which is open to unmarried Catholic couples or those living together in a common law or civil law marriage.
Parishioners Monique Fonacier and Rommel Silva moved from the Philippines to California a few years ago. Getting married in the Catholic Church “was always part of our plan,” said Fonacier. To meet visa requirements, they needed to marry within three months, which they did at the San Mateo County Civic Center in 2023.
“Three months wouldn’t have been enough time to complete the preparation and planning for a Church wedding,” she said.
When Project I Do was announced at St. Robert’s, “it came at just the right time,” she said.
“Knowing there was a dedicated team to guide us through the planning process and help make it financially accessible gave us peace of mind,” she said. “It allowed us to focus less on the logistics and more on the true meaning of the sacrament. It has also deepened our connection to the St. Robert’s parish community.”
Photos: John Bartolome
Top Photo: Four civilly-married couples entered the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony July 18 in a Project I Do wedding at St. Robert’s Church in San Bruno. Front row, left-right: Romina Moncada and Carlos Santana, Jennifer and Greggy Adriano, Yvette and Shiegfred Piano, Monique Fonacier and Rommel Silva. Back row: Father Arnold Zamora and Father Boie Espeleta
