The Mass
Booklet
Hard copy booklets will be available on the day of the ceremony. If you prefer a soft copy, then kindly download it at this link (do it few days before the wedding as there is no coverage up in the mountains!)
Priests
On our way up to San Benedetto, we were lucky enough to have been accompanied and supported by many priest friends...
Don Luca Ciotti
Don Luca will be the celebrant. He is unstoppable, full of everlasting energy and blessings. Being a great sportsman and traveller, you may have met him on a bike ride on the Danube, on a glacier in Valfurva, on a Basketball court in Milan, or, maybe even in Erbil (Iraq), where he has been just to make sure he does not miss anything the world has to offer. Over the past two decades, and despite his many commitments, Don Luca has steadfastly and affectionately accompanied Riccardo on his path in Azione Cattolica and in his Mediterranean wanderings, like a true spiritual father. This is how he also met Alessandra, and how he accompanied us towards our wedding with an international course for engaged couples.
Don Paolo Tavazzi
Don Paolo Tavazzi will concelebrate. He has been the priest of Colturano during Alessandra's childhood and adolescence. He immediately struck a chord with the whole Behring family with his simple spirit and pragmatism. He is a sportsman and mountain lover too, and he welcomed the idea of a walk to San Benedetto to accompany us and to celebrate the wedding.
Don Sergio Tettamanti
Don Sergio is a priest in the Diocese of Como (since 1981) and a Camaldolese Oblate (since 2010) in the Eremo S. Giorgio community in Bardolino (VR). He is currently residing at the Shrine of the B.V. del Soccorso in Tremezzina (CO). Don Sergio, when the idea was still no more than a sketch in our minds, replied, "If it were for me I would marry you right away!" His enthusiasm, well balanced by a solid realism, allowed us to move forward in this venture. Our first meeting with him - in his simple yet cozy dining hall with a magnificent view on Lake Como - immediately became a beloved memory in our hearts and minds. Among the great lovers of San Benedetto, he understood and supported us from the very beginning. Thank you Don Sergio!
Don Italo Mazzoni
Don Italo, a priest of the Diocese of Como, is indeed a local, having been born in Menaggio. He is the former director of the diocesan office of Family Pastoral Care; since 2016, he has been the priest of Lenno and Isola di Ossuccio Pastoral Community. Don Italo is the one who has generously trusted us and will allow us to register our marriage in the registry of his parish. Not only that: in case it really does rain cats and dogs and it is impossible for us to walk to San Benedetto, Don Italo will kindly allowed us to celebrate the wedding in Santo Stefano Church in Lenno. Thank you!
Don Virginio Resnati
Don Virginio is the one who made the improbable possible, that is, the one who skilfully zigzagged between numerous priests, four parishes, three dioceses, a few "clearances," and a variety of papers that were nonetheless essential to arrive at a religiously and legally "valid" marriage. Don Virginio has been priest for more than 20 years in Valbrona, thus he watched Riccardo grow up and disappear off to the other side of the mare nostrum. He revealed to us that he has seen it all in his occasional viewing of the TV program "Four Weddings in Italy," although we doubt he has stumbled upon mountain weddings like the one awaiting him on the other branch of Lake Como.
Don Pietro Lorenzo Maggioni
Don Lorenzo is a living description of the expression: "one of a kind". Versatile, talented, generous, he has a gentle and attentive word for everyone. He has been involved for years in important topics and causes: intercultural mediation, Eastern religions, Islamic-Christian dialogue, environmental campaigns, and Riccardo's well-being as well. He has taken him to heart since he saw him arriving on a beat-up scooter (which didn't want to get going again once their talk on Islamic mysticism was over). Together with Ale and Richi, he has been to Morocco and also Lebanon, where he also showed off his singing talents and celebrated Mass in the Qadisha Holy Valley. His book (stemming from his Ph.D. dissertation obtained at Georgetown University) is of course very entertaining: Comparative Theology: A Fairy Tale. For an Ethics in Comparison. It has something to do with Disney fairy tales and Theology of Religions. One of a kind, indeed.
Don Luca Castiglioni
It was love at first sight with Don Luca. He is the priest in charge of Nati per Amare ("Born to Love"), a course for engaged couples that we completed at the Archbishop's Seminary in Milan (highly recommended!). A fine and sensitive theologian with a "highly innovative thesis on the equality of women and men within the Catholic Church" (Daughters and Sons of God: Baptismal Equality and Sexual Difference, Editrice Queriniana 2023), but also a great songwriter and walker, after a Christmas' eve with unlikely acquaintances spent singing even more unlikely songs, it seemed to us more than natural to involve him in this celebration, and we are honoured and grateful to him for agreeing to be there!
Don Luca Borsani
What if it rains? No party? Thanks to Don Luca there will be a Plan B for the reception as well! He welcomed us on a sunny morning of spring and showed us his beautiful youth Parish center right on the lakeside, with a privileged view of Mount Legnone and Valchiavenna. An unexpectedly great Plan B. Thanks you for trusting us!