RUSH TO ALTAR.

Star (Christchurch), Volume LXIV, Issue 939, 8 December 1933, Page 5

RUSH TO ALTAR.

Marriage of 2500 Italian Couples. MUSSOLINI'S EONUS. The marriage at dawn on October 30 of 2500 couples in Rome city and province closed the celebrations of the eleventh anniversary of the Fascist march on Rome. Last-minute attempts to qualify for the Mussolini marriage bonus increased the number of weddings by 500 beyond that which had been expected. In Rome alone S2O couples were married, and were later received by the Pope, who, after addressing them from a throne, presented rosaries to the women and medallions to the men. The wedding ceremonies in the city were performed in the various parish churches, but afterwards the couples heard Mass at St Mary of All Angels. Suffragan Palica officiated, and the Pope’s own choir from the Sistine Chapel sang Mass. It was an amazing sight, and one which the magnificent church, formerly part of Emperor Diocletian’s baths, has never before witnessed. A few women wore white, with veils and orange blossom, but the majority, some of whom were only 14 years old, were in poor circumstances. Some had the colourful costumes of the Roman campagna; others black mantillas over dark dresses, despite the belief that to be married in black is bad luck. After Mass and a short address from Mgr. Palica, they walked in procession to the headquarters of the After Work Clubs, greeted by such crowds of excited men and women that the police had difficulty in clearing a path for them. At the end of a beflagged hall Signor Starace, secretary of the Fascist Party, stood under a huge portrait of the Duce. To each husband he handed an envelope with Signor Mussolini's portrait printed outside. Inside was the marriage bonus, ranging from 800 to 500 liras (£SS to £5 gold), according to the recipient’s qualifications, and a life insurance policy.