2,100 Couples in Global Blessing Ceremony

Mass wedding tradition continues as global blessing ceremony adapts to absence of True Mother in large ceremony in South Korea

The first large international wedding ceremony where Hak Ja Han ((한학자 – 83), also known as “Holy Mother Han” and “True Mother”, could not officiate in person was held on 2^nd May 2026.According to the organizers – the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification – 2,100 couples took part. The spectacular event was organized in Cheongshim Peace World Center, a large indoor arena, in Gapyeong, northeast of the South Korean capital Seoul.

See also Movement Promoting Family as National Solution

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The event took place on Hak Ja Han’s own 66^th wedding anniversary – according to the Oriental lunar calendar (eumnyeok / 음력), which is still used for anniversaries and milestone birthdays. And adding to the significance of the day, the grand ceremony also commemorated the first anniversary of the entrance into the Cheonwon Temple, which serves as the central temple of Unificationism and represents the “culmination of 6,000 years of providential history”.

Even though the True Parents were not physically present at the marriage blessing ceremony on 2^nd May, the event still officially had them in the officiating role. At all such large events since 2013, except one, Mother Han has read out the so-called Blessing Vows, to which the couples shout a resounding “Yes!” This time, a voice recording of her reciting the vows, was played. The same for the “Blessing Proclamation” and the “Benediction Prayer” for all the couples.

The only part where someone stood in for the True Parents, was the “Holy Water ceremony”, where Reverend Lee Gi-seong (이기성) and his wife Jang Yun-jeong (장윤정) sprinkled water on the 13 representative couples up on the stage, while attendants sprinkled it on all the other couples in the large arena. Lee and Jang had also served as officiating couple on behalf of the True Parents at a smaller marriage blessing ceremony at the height of the Corona epidemic in October 2020, when strict regulations for the size of gatherings applied in South Korea.

This sprinkling of holy water symbolized the cleansing of past mistakes and the restoration of participants to the “original ideal of creation” upon the victorious foundation established by the True Parents.

The Blessing Vows signify affirming a historic vow to become an “eternal couple”, inherit the tradition established by the True Parents, and strive to perfect the “family ideal” regarded as the basic social unit in a Kingdom of Heaven of true love here on the Earth and in the eternal world.

Couples exchanged “sacred symbols” – rings – representing their “eternal love” and an “unchanging bond” centered on the “Heavenly Parent”. The groom placed the ring on the bride’s right hand, followed by the bride placing it on the groom’s right hand.

Through the recorded voice of Mother Han reading the “Blessing Proclamation”, the marital unions were declared as established “before Heaven and Earth” based on the grace of our Heavenly Parent and the True Parents. This proclamation officially blessed the “virtuous men and women” participating in the 2026 ceremony.

To close the ceremony, a representative couple – the son of Moon Heung-jin  (문흥진) and Moon Hoon-sook (문훈숙), together with his wife – offered flowers to the officiators. Another couple offered a symbolic gift to the officiators as an expression of gratitude.

At the end, there were celebratory performances, featuring songs and a “cute dance” by the newly blessed couples, offering gratitude and marking a joyful end to the day.

The reason Mother Han could not attend the large Marriage Blessing ceremony is that she is currently receiving urgent medical treatment in a South Korean hospital. It looks like she will remain there until 30^th May, when she is due to return to Seoul Detention Center where she has been held in a tiny cell since 22^nd September 2025 while special prosecutors appointed by the current left-leaning Lee Jae-myung (이재명) administration investigate whether Mother Han has been involved in alleged unlawful donations to leading political figures. Critics view the investigation as a crackdown and revenge on religious organizations perceived to have supported the former conservative Yoon Suk-yeol (윤석열) administration. He has already been given a life sentence.

See also Movement Promoting Family as National Solution

See also 5000 Couples Tying the Knot for World Peace

See also Thousands Wed in Event Led by “Holy Mother Han”

See also Large Wedding on Mother Moon’s Own Anniversary

See also Birthday Celebrated with Big Marriage Blessing

See also Kingdom Is Here and Advancing: Bishop’s Tribute

Text: Knut Holdhus, editor

Featured image above: From the large international Marriage Blessing ceremony for 2,100 couples in Gapyeong, South Korea on 2nd May 2026. Screenshot from live transmission by Peace TV.

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