VATICAN CITY, Feb. 14 (UPI) -- Ten thousand engaged couples gathered in St. Peter's Square Friday to celebrate their love and to listen to Pope Francis, Vatican officials said.
The event began at 11 a.m. with testimonies from couples, as well as songs and readings dedicated to love, Vatican Radio reported.
The pope attended the event to greet the couples and discuss common issues, including the fear of forever, living together and the matrimonial way of life.
"This fear of forever is cured by entrusting oneself day by day to the Lord Jesus in a life that becomes a daily spiritual path of common growth, step by step," he said. "To stay together and to know how to love each other for ever is the challenge Christian married couples face!"
He also said that living together requires the use of four words: please, thank you and sorry.
"In your relationship, and in your future as married couples, it is important to keep alive your awareness that the other person is a gift from God, and we should always give thanks for gifts from God," he said.
Pope Francis also joked with the crowd, ANSA reported, leading the square to erupt in laughter.
"We all know the perfect family does not exist, not a perfect father nor a perfect mother," he said. "Let's not talk about the perfect mother-in-law!"
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