Pope Performs Wedding Ceremony for Couple Aboard A Plane [Photos]

Pope Performs Wedding Ceremony for Couple Aboard A Plane [Photos]

This is the moment Paula Podest Ruiz, 39, and Carlos Ciuffardi Elorriga, 41, were joined together in matrimony at 36,000ft in a ceremony officiated by the Pope himself. The pair were working on board an aircraft taking Francis from Santiago to Iquique during his three-day visit to the country when the magical moment happened.

Ruiz and Elorriga were married in a civil ceremony eight years ago, and had been planning a religious ceremony at their parish church, near Santiago.

But their plans were ruined when the church was destroyed in an 8.8 magnitude earthquake which also triggered a tsunami, killing 500 in total.

While Pope Francis was on board on Thursday the pair asked him to bless the union, prompting him to ask: ‘Are you married?’

When they explained the situation, he followed up by asking if they wanted to get married, according to NCR.

‘Well, yes, but are you sure?’ the couple asked him. With a smile he responded: ‘Are you sure?’

The couple then stood at the front of the plane while Francis performed the service, witnessed by Ignacio Cueto, the president of LATAM airlines.