At the end of October, hired decorators, musicians, lighting specialists, and workmen spent a week preparing the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church.
They assembled a full-size piano inside the church, draped green ivy down the choir loft, and filled the aisles and main altar with warm-toned fall leaves and branches. From the outside, a man hired to do lighting set up large lamps to illuminate the church’s stained glass windows well into the night.
By Saturday before Halloween, the finishing touches had been made.
Then, on Saturday night, the ceremony began.
Sister Máire recalled that the music on that special night, sung by a phenomenal church choir based in Manhattan, rang pure through the church like angels.
Between the sounds and the lights, the space could have been plucked from the pages of a fairytale.
This wedding was bound to be an impressive spectacle.
However, the bride and groom, Argentinian reporter Nieves Zuberbühler and billionaire heir and New York DJ Julio Mario Santo Domingo, took church leaders and community members by surprise when their guests began showing up in costume.
Community Response
Gossip began floating around Red Hook as the revelers stepped out of cars and limousines, revealing their bizarre attire.
In photographs of the event, wedding-goers dressed in costumes of all varieties can be found, from relatively harmless depictions of unicorns and royalty to more controversial representations of Jesus and the devil.
While the bride dressed traditionally in a floor length white gown, and the groom wore garments fit for a king, some of the costumes left more skin exposed than one would generally expect to see in a church.
Locals have referred to the marriage as a “demon wedding,” and passed along false rumors that Father Claudio Antecini, the priest who, six years prior, had saved the church from threats of financial ruin, would be let go.
A community member who wished to remain anonymous said, “I’ll just say, people shouldn’t have been dressed like that in a church.”
Church Response
The attire of revelers shocked Fr. Claudio, Sr. Máire, and church trustee Frances DeLuca, but they decided to welcome everyone into the church with open arms, regardless of attire.
DeLuca said, “We were quite surprised, but when you arrive, you have a choice. You have 800 people who came to the house of God. We don’t place judgment.”
The church leaders made a quick decision: they would welcome the wedding party as usual.
Fr. Claudio recalled, “I wanted people to feel welcome so they would come back, here or somewhere else. And some did.”
The morning after the event, a number of people who had attended the wedding returned to the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary church for normal Sunday services.
While Fr. Claudio notes that he would have asked that the wedding-goers to dress more respectfully had he known about the costumes in advance, he stands by the decision to welcome people.
Church Response
Fr. Claudio will not be let go as a result of the wedding, church public relations coordinator, Sister Rosanna, assured me.
“Jesus spent time amongst the poor and amongst sinners, primarily,” Sr. Rosanna explained. She then cited Jesus’ tendency to spend more of his time with people on the streets, from prostitutes to tax collectors, as opposed to more pious observers like the Pharisees, a term used in biblical times to refer to a Jewish sect that strictly obeyed religious law.
Though the church feels confident with their stance on the wedding, they acknowledge that not all of their community members understand why.
DeLuca, saddened by the rumors being spread, said, “Gossip is expelled when people enter our community and truly participate.” She added that she would say to those who doubt the good intentions of the church to “please come” and see for themselves.
Despite rumors floating around, church leaders want to assure people that aside from costumes, all behavior inside the church appeared to be respectful. The wedding, they explained, was a traditional Catholic ceremony performed by an Argentinian priest.
They added that all after-party events took place at local art studio and gallery, Pioneer Works.
DeLuca, recalling the reverence of the attendees, said, “During the Ave Maria, you could hear a pin drop. It was so beautiful.”
Fr. Claudio mused thoughtfully, “We all come to church in masks, but Jesus looks at our hearts, not our vestments.”
4 Comments
Ok the church on visitation let people do this in their church. But won’t let single unwed mothers baptize their children there.
Don’t understand this..if this was back in the day they would never have allowed sometime like this in the Catholic Church..AND was it a real wedding?
Hello I do not know the particulars of renting a church but this wedding was beautiful from the decor to the costumes some were crazy and did not belong in a church, but did they know where they were going my guess, the costumes were something out of a story book I have the pictures. Besides their costume the people were very friendly, no butts or extra tits hanging out they were dressed in expensive attire they all looked beautiful to me, big extravaganza for a Halloween wedding I thought. Sister Rosanna is very right “Stop Judging”
This is 2016 we are not back in the times everything around us has changed expect the unexpected you don’t like it, well its done continue on with your life Be Happy in 2017
Hello all,
As the writer of this piece, I tried to reach out to community members in order to get at all viewpoints for this article. However, people seemed reluctant to talk about it, given the sensitive nature of the piece.
While I am saddened at people’s unhappiness, I am glad that we are starting to communicate about it. Here is how I think we can best work together moving forward:
1. Send me information about why you are upset. The more specific (factual and able to be confirmed by more than one person), the better, but I am also interested in how people are feeling generally.
2. Spread the word. Encourage others to share what they know and give out my contact information. The more information I get, the better.
3. I would like to write another article about the relationship of the church with the community.
I can keep anyone anonymous who wishes to remain anonymous.
You can email me at emily@redhookstar.com. You can call our office to reach me by phone, or email me for my cellphone number. I am happy to listen to any and all comments, stories, and complaints.