Pilgrimages by bateau-mouche (water bus) on the Seine and dinners open to all engaged couples: just some of the events being planned by the archdiocese of Paris to celebrate St. Valentine’s Day on 14 February 2007. “It’s an occasion for the Church to transmit a positive message about love – says Archbishop Vingt-Trois -; we can’t just be satisfied with proposing a model of family, as if we were able to guarantee its success. We need to dedicate ourselves at all levels to permit the best conditions of family life. Much has been done and much still remains to be done, especially in the field of the counselling of newly-weds and in the accompaniment of families”. The programme includes an evening festivity for couples on Saturday 10 February. The archdiocese has even set up its own St. Valentine’s website: www.fetesaintvalentin.org with all details about the events. Sunday 11 February is the day of the pilgrimage on the Seine, which will end at Notre Dame with a Mass officiated by the Archbishop. Some fifty parishes are organizing events in tandem, to promote marriage and the religious life of couples.
