A wedding without wine is shameful!
Thus said Pope Francis as he explained how wine is central to marking the joy of a new marriage in the Roman Catholic Church.
Addressing pilgrims at his weekly public audience in St. Peter's Square on Wednesday, Pope Francis cited the biblical wedding feast of Cana during which Jesus performed the first miracle of his public ministry—turning water into wine, the Religion News Service (RNS) reports.
The Pope said this miraculous act is a reflection of God's love for mankind.
"How is it possible to celebrate the wedding and have a party if you lack what the prophets indicated was a typical element of the messianic banquet?" Pope Francis asked.
"Water is necessary to live, but wine expresses the abundance of the feast and the joy of the celebration. And a wedding party which lacks wine — the newlyweds feel ashamed of this," he said.
Elaborating on the idea, he added: "But imagine finishing a wedding party drinking tea — it would be shameful! Wine is necessary for the celebration."
The Pope is not known to be much of a drinker although he enjoys a glass of wine every now and then.
His views on wine apparently put the Pope in disagreement with some Protestants, including members of the Southern Baptist Convention and the Assemblies of God movement.
The Southern Baptist Convention has reportedly passed more than 50 resolutions on the negative effects of alcohol.
The Assemblies of God movement also prohibits its ministers from drinking wine and encourages its members to likewise abstain from liquor, according to RNS.
However, wine is essential for the Catholic Church and other traditional churches. It is even used in the celebration of Mass.
No wonder, the Vatican — a city-state with a population of less than a thousand permanent residents — has the world's highest per capita wine consumption.
A research conducted by the California-based Wine Institute in 2014 showed that the amount of wine consumed in the Vatican is equivalent to about 20 gallons for each resident annually.
