It was a rare scene: a priest celebrating the wedding of his own grandson. As unusual as it may be, it happened on May 14, 2022, in the church of St. Thérèse of Lisieux in Porto Alegre, a city in southern Brazil.
Fr. Paulo Müller, 85 years-old, waited at the altar and happily received the bride and groom—his grandson Ânderson and fiancée Rafaella.
When they decided to get married in the church, the groom made a point of inviting his grandfather to celebrate the wedding. He described how it happened:
For the priest, celebrating the marriage of his grandson was a unique opportunity. "It was a wonderful thing. Almost no one has that opportunity that I had," Fr. Paulo told Brazilian news outlet G1.
His testimony as a priest and grandfather
In a conversation with Aleteia, the groom also commented that during the celebration, the priest inspired the family and guests with his personal testimony about marriage:
Widower and priest
Paulo Müller was married for 29 years. He had four children and four grandchildren. Even before his own marriage, he was already very religious. He even considered becoming a priest, but followed the vocation of marriage instead.
After his wife Lizzete passed away, he decided to serve the Church more. He was a catechist, Extraordinary Minister of the Eucharist, and then deacon. His priestly ordination took place in 1992. Today, at 85 years of age, he is a parish priest in Novo Hamburgo, in the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul.
