Noces de Platine - 70 years married!

I collected the post one morning and found a card with a photo of an elderly couple that we didn't recognise and an invitation to help them celebrate a mass in the village church for their seventieth wedding anniversary. I asked our neighboours, Jeanne and Cristel, about it and they said that the family of the couple had invited the whole village to the mass as a surprise for the couple, Fernande and Albert. We arranged to go with them on Saturday the 15th September.

We all arrived at the church in good time and soon the church was full of villagers and relatives of the couple. The church had been beautifully decorated and had a festive feel. There were 3 priests in attendance, our parish priest, a priest from Aire sur l'Adour who was deputising for the priest from Grenade who was on holiday, and a priest from the diocese.
Finally, when all were seated , Fernande and Albert walked down the aisle, the same aisle that they had walked down 70 years previously. It was very emotional and we felt so priviliged to be able to take part in their celebrations. Fernande is 89, walks with a stick and is blind. Albert at 92 is upright and looks years less than his age. He carefully guided his wife down the aisle and to seats in the chancel.
From the priests address we learnt that when war broke out Albert, who was living in Alsace, was evacuated with many others from his village and after a long journey was welcomed to Castandet. The priest recounted how Fernande was part of the welcoming party and that it was her job to distribute glasses of refreshing water to the evacuees after their long and exhausting journey. Poetically he recounted that when Fernande gave Albert a glass of water it contained friendship and love and that their meeting then was the start of their long relationship.
It was a very emotional service and wewere glad that we had been invited to share in the families celebrations for Fernande and Albert.