In D.C., Couples Mark a Love That Lasts, and Lasts . . .

After 64 years of marriage to husband Thomas, Doris Irving said she knows why they have succeeded. "He's just a good man, and I'm a good woman," the District resident said. Plus, at age 93, her husband is still a terrific dancer -- and not bad at folding laundry, either.

The ceremony is an annual, and popular, event for the archdiocese. Many couples yesterday brought their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, who crowded into pews at the sides of the sanctuary, scooting over every now and then to grab a photo.

Enduring love is "not just a decision to be together," Archbishop Donald W. Wuerl said in his homily. "It is part of God's plan."

For many, the emotional peak of the ritual came when the couples rose to repeat their wedding vows en masse.

Bent and gray-haired, their walkers stowed nearby, Silver Spring residents Edwin and Helen Johnsen gripped each other's hands for support as they faced each other.

Helen wept as Edwin repeated the words he had used in their small wedding ceremony in Savannah, Ga., in 1944, when she was a petite brunette in a white dress with gold trim and he was a young Army lieutenant about to ship off to the South Pacific.

"I, Edwin," he told Helen as she looked into his eyes and the years fell away, "take you to be my wife. I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health."

Then Edwin also began to cry. He patted his wet cheeks briefly and continued.

"I will love you and honor you," he said, "all the days of my life."