A marriage ‘in heaven’

Pope Francis celebrates the marriage of crew members Paula Podest (C) and Carlos Ciufffardi (L) during the flight between Santiago and the northern city of Iquique in Chile. REUTERS
In the first such ceremony on a papal flight, Pope Francis performed a wedding for a steward and stewardess while flying between two Chilean cities on Thursday
Paula Podest Ruiz, 39, and Carlos Ciuffardi Elorriga, 41, who had a civil union eight years ago, told the pope that a religious ceremony that was to follow was cancelled after their parish church in Santiago was heavily damaged in an earthquake in 2010
They asked him to bless their marriage but he instead performed a brief ceremony to marry them for the Church too