Wing and a prayer: pope marries couple on plane over Chile

The bride had walked down the aisle countless times before, usually pushing a trolley of drinks or reheated food. She wore a neat uniform with a name badge instead of a white dress, and probably checked the guests had fastened their seat belts before the ceremony. Love was definitely in the air when Pope Francis married two cabin crew members in an impromptu wedding on a flight taking the pontiff and his entourage between two Chilean cities. Paula Podest, 39, and Carlos Ciuffardi, 41, had been married in a civil service but their planned religious ceremony was scotched when an earthquake in 2010 almost destroyed their parish church in the Chilean capital, Santiago. Seizing an unmissable opportunity, the couple asked Francis to bless their marriage. But he had something else in mind. “Do you want me to marry you?” he asked them. “Here?” they replied, astonished.(theguardian)…[+]