Couple celebrate Golden Wedding Anniversary By Patrick Joubert |29 December 2022
Robert and Antonia Bibi, from Cascade, yesterday celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary.
The couple renewed their wedding vows in a special mass held yesterday afternoon at the Seventh Day Adventist Church in Victoria in the presence of their family, relatives and friends.
Born as Catholics before turning their faith to the ‘biblical Sabbath’, 78-year-old Robert and 80-year-old Antonia, got married in the Roman Catholic Church of Victoria 50 years ago on December 28, 1972.
Mr Bibi was 28 years old and Mrs Bibi was 30 years old when they got married.
The groom is an ex-senior police officer while the bride has been a housewife all along.
In his sermon to celebrate the couple’s golden wedding anniversary, Pastor Michael Bijoux thanked God for showering His blessings upon them with his eternal love which had kept them united in love, faithfulness and in good health for so many years.
He congratulated the couple on their achievement and he urged them, in God’s name, to continue on the path of love and togetherness they have taken which will allow them to celebrate more wedding anniversaries together, amid the difficulties and challenges of married life.
“God has offered you both with a gold medal that will never fade or rust other than to continue to shine the path of love and faithfulness you have taken and the promises you made since 50 years ago,” said Pastor Bijoux, who also thanked God for showing his love among the people surrounding and supporting the couple in their married life.
The couple met for the first time in January 1970 when Mrs Bibi was on holiday from her work as a nanny in Beirut, Lebanon. Mrs Bibi noted that she gave him a false name as she did not like to reveal her real name to strangers while Mr Bibi on his part said that he later found out her real name and from there after she left for Beirut, they kept in touch until she returned after two years later when they got married.
The couple said that although their married life had not been rosy like many other married couples, love, understanding, faithfulness, perseverance, togetherness and communication have kept them going for all these years, including the appearance of their three children – son Ronny Bibi, and their two daughters, Adriana Seraphine and Natalie Edmond (both born Bibi) – who between them have blessed their parents with four granddaughters.
“I am extremely happy today especially when I see that my children and my grandchildren are present with us,” Mr Bibi said.
For her part Mrs Bibi, who also expressed her happiness for reaching this far, said, “I always said to myself that if one day I get married I will not separate from my husband and if I had to separate I will not get married again. So my advice to the girls is that if you are in love, make sure that you really love that person before getting married as it is no use getting married to be separated later. If you do get married also make sure that you put God in the middle of everything you do so that your marriage will last.”
After the service, the couple joined with their family, relatives and friends in a reception at Labriz Gastro Lounge, Bel Ombre.
The accompanying photos show some highlights of the ceremony.
Photos by Patrick Joubert
