Delhi archdiocese refuses to bless Priyanka's wedding unless she becomes a Christian

George Iype in New Delhi

The Gandhi family has approached the Church authorities in Delhi, seeking their blessing to solemnise the wedding of Priyanka Gandhi, daughter of Sonia Gandhi and former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi.

But the Delhi archdiocese has refused to bless Priyanka's marriage to 28-year-old businessman Robert Vadhera. The hitch: Priyanka is not a baptised Catholic, unlike her Italian-born mother Sonia Gandhi.

''The Gandhi family has asked for a time between 10.30 am and 2.30 pm on February 5," Sacred Heart Cathedral's assistant parish priest Father Johnson told Rediff On The NeT.

But the priest said the parish has not yet given permission to the marriage as Priyanka is not a baptised Christian.

Priyanka's mother Sonia and Robert's mother Maureen are Christians. The groom's Moradabad-based businessmen father, Rajinder Vadhera, is a Punjabi. The bride's illustrious family followed the Hindu tradition, even though Priyanka's paternal grandfather, Feroze Gandhi, was a Parsi.

Maureen is said to be a pious Christian who brought up Robert, his brother Richard and sister Michelle in the Christian tradition.

Since the Vadhera children are baptised Catholics, the Sacred Heart Cathedral wants Robert to first attend a pre-marriage preparation course and then come with his bride to church.

"We will be glad to solemnise the wedding if Robert produces his baptism papers and Priyanka is willing to become a Christian," a senior priest at the archdiocese told Rediff On The NeT.

While the Gandhi and Vadhera familes are yet to sort out this thorny religious issue, the Special Protection Group has conducted a reconnaissance of the Cathedral premises.

Despite the uncertainty whether Priyanka and Robert will have a wedding in church, the parish priests are not taking any chances. They have already shifted a couple of marriages originally scheduled for the morning of February 5 to the evening. Parish sources said SPG personnel have asked the priests to reschedule all other marriages after 2.30 pm.

Tom Varghese, an export manager with the Tata group, was to get married at 10.30 am on February 5. "But I was compelled to change the time to 5 pm as the parish priest said Priyanka was getting married there in the morning," Varghese told Rediff On The NeT.