Golden Jubilee Mass is set for Oct. 17 at SS. Peter and Paul Cathedral
By Mary Ann Wyand
Four days after Marion “Bud” Galbo arrived home from the U.S. Navy, the World War II veteran married his childhood sweetheart, Mary Margaret Aust, on May 9, 1945.
“He got home on Sunday and everything was ready to go,” Mary Galbo said with a laugh during a recent phone interview. “We got married on Wednesday. Our kids always say, ‘Mom, who ever heard of getting married on a Wednesday?’ ”
The late Father James Moriarty officiated at their wedding at Holy Cross Church in Indianapolis.
Sixty-five years after that memorable Wednesday, the Galbos will renew their marriage vows on a Sunday with other longtime married couples during the 27th annual archdiocesan Golden Jubilee Mass at 2 p.m. on Oct. 17 at SS. Peter and Paul Cathedral, 1347 N. Meridian St., in Indianapolis.
Archbishop Daniel M. Buechlein is scheduled to be the celebrant for the golden wedding anniversary liturgy for Catholic couples married for 50 years or longer.
Jubilarian couples married for 60 or more years will be recognized during the Mass.
The Galbos are members of Holy Spirit Parish in Indianapolis. They have four children—Jim Galbo, Janie Landon, Mary Margaret Evans and Joe Galbo—as well as seven grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
Several family members will join them for the spiritual celebration at the cathedral followed by an informal reception in the Assembly Hall at the Archbishop O’Meara Catholic Center across the street.
“The Golden Jubilee Mass is always a beautiful event with couples who have been married for 50 years or longer,” said David Bethuram, the director of the archdiocesan Office of Family Ministries.
“These couples really exemplify the sacrament of marriage,” Bethuram said. “Their faithful marital love gives us something to celebrate as a Church—and also for the wider community—because of the vocation that they have with one another. We encourage those couples who have been married for 50 years or longer to come to the Mass on Oct. 17.”
There is still time to register with the Office of Family Ministries, he said, and participate in the special liturgy.
“We’re looking forward to coming to the Mass, health permitting,” said Bud Galbo, who retired from the Indianapolis Fire Department after 32 years of service. He also is a former union pipefitter.
“When I was overseas, I always kidded her [in letters] and said that she proposed to me instead of me proposing to her,” he recalled, “because she let me know that when I came home we were going to be getting married.”
During the war, he served on the U.S.S. Hamilton, a small destroyer that was converted to a high-speed minesweeper, in both the Atlantic and Pacific theaters.
“I was overseas for three and a half years all together,” Bud Galbo said. “We saw a lot of action, and earned 10 battle stars. But four of the five ships that operated with us were sunk.”
The Galbos attended Holy Cross School together then he went to Arsenal Technical High School and she completed her education at the former St. Mary Academy.
“It was love at first sight for me in grade school, but I don’t know about her,” he said. “I just feel like I was lucky to get the girl I got. You’ll have to ask her about it.”
Mary Galbo laughed as he handed her the phone.
“He said that because I was standing right next to him,” she said. “He’s still courting me, and he always kids me about that proposal. He still says that I proposed, but we saved all of our letters and I don’t think I did.”
The Galbos were members of St. Therese of the Infant Jesus (Little Flower) Parish in Indianapolis for 41 years before moving further east and joining Holy Spirit Parish.
They also renewed their wedding vows at the archdiocesan Golden Jubilee Mass three years ago.
“We went to the Mass when we were married 62 years,” Mary Galbo said. “There were a lot of priests there, and we saw Father [Glenn] O’Connor. As he walked by us [during the procession], he smiled and said, ‘I hope it lasts.’ We’re looking forward to the jubilee Mass.”
Looking back on their 65 years together, Mary Galbo reflected on how to share so many happy years of married life.
“My best advice [to young couples] is that you’ve got to give and take,” she said. “You’ve got to give your part.”
(Registration for the Golden Jubilee Mass is required by calling the Office of Family Ministries at 317-236-1596 or 800-382-9836, ext. 1596, by Oct. 6. In order to accommodate all the longtime married couples that attend the celebration, each jubilarian couple is limited to four guest tickets for their family members.) †