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MANSIELD----AVOID FR. TONY BORGIA @ ST PETERS CHURCH

I was recently in a large wedding at this church conducted by Father Tony Borgia. If we ALL weren't so appalled and offended by this man's behavior, I wouldn't have wasted the time to sign into my Knot account from last year to warn others about him. 1. He expects NO ONE to celebrate with ONE DROP of alcohol on the day of the wedding. This means he pre-admonishes groups of adults at the rehearsal by threatening to 'walk out of the wedding' if he hears 'that the bride has a mimosa' or the 'groom has a shot' or if anyone in the bridal party does it either. He threatens the bride and groom into being babysitters for their own adult crew or he will 'just walk out and go home and watch tv'. He is proud of the fact that he's 'done it before, he'll do it again'. 2. During the rehearsal,  he feels it necessary to admonish those in the pews, not in the wedding at all and not disturbing anyone, like a schoolteacher yelling at students. 3. During the wedding, he 'calls on' members of the bridal party to answer questions about what he thinks makes a good marriage and if you say something he doesn't like (because he, never married, is the authority on marriage and he should judge what married people suggest, even if they are trying to be funny)  he rolls his eyes, shakes his head with disdain, and announces to the whole church that 'you can ask that person later what they said', making it an awkward moment that detracts from the ceremony.  Many of us in the bridal party had our jaws drop so many times at his level and amount of offending, condescending attidues and comments that I wanted to find a way to inform others about this unfortunate behavior. Avoid at least this celebrant at this church unless you want to be treated like an irresponsible toddler by someone who seems quite happy to so so especially with an audience. I was born and raised Catholic and was embarassed by this celebrant and hope those in attendance, both guests and wedding party, don't think this is how all Catholic priests treat people.

Re: MANSIELD----AVOID FR. TONY BORGIA @ ST PETERS CHURCH

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    edited December 2011
    Wow. I am sorry you had to deal with this. No one should have to deal with that.

    I would, however, post this on your local FL board so that Catholic brides there can be aware of this priest.
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    Christied513Christied513 member
    First Anniversary First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I actually posted --or tried to post it --to the Ohio/Columbus board since that is where the wedding was...:-)
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    edited December 2011
    Goodness! that's terrible. thank you for the info.
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    BCsGalBCsGal member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    That is ridiculous!  The poor bride!  I would be livid.  I was in a wedding where the pastor made a big stink at the rehearsal about drinking, and this was for a wedding on a budget with no alcohol and with a wedding party/ bride and groom that are not big party people.  It was actually the groom's dad officiating, so that made it even more awkward.  I felt like I was being lectured and "in trouble" for something that I didn't do, and wasn't even planning on doing, but that is nothing compared to your story, I can only imagine what you all felt.  I could not even imagine all that stuff happening during the ceremony! That is such a special, sacred time, and he ruined it.  I hope you all lived it up at the reception, and didn't let it ruin the day!
    Christina & Brandon - August 7, 2010 Anniversary
    My Planning Bio | My Married Bio | FOR SALE!
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    Christied513Christied513 member
    First Anniversary First Comment
    edited December 2011

    The bride and groom were not fans of the pre-admonishing and I know it made the bride all nervous and the bridesmaids felt badly for her because she WOULD have probably enjoyed a toast or a mimosa as a responsible adult and she was already pre-reprimanded against doing so like we were all some drunken fools or something. I don't think the bride and groom totally noticed the stuff that made us all look at each other with our jaws dropped, so that's good. It was like a trip back to kindergarten but as an adult with the teacher everyone dreads.  I just wanted to see if I could help someone and their bridal party/family avoid being so offended by this person.

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    tldhtldh member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_ohio-columbus_mansield-awful-priest-avoid-fr-tony-borgia-st-peters-church?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:112Discussion:b3b15621-6ddd-4857-a171-d937b381dad6Post:5aaf9414-944d-4b2c-8a9c-2ce4a6513bc1">Re: MANSIELD----AVOID FR. TONY BORGIA @ ST PETERS CHURCH</a>:
    [QUOTE]Wow. I am sorry you had to deal with this. No one should have to deal with that. I would, however, post this on your local FL board so that Catholic brides there can be aware of this priest.
    Posted by MissySue20[/QUOTE]

    Mansfield is just north of Columbus.  Drove there from Cleveland many a time.
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    AKA GoodLuckBear14
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    edited December 2011
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_ohio-columbus_mansield-awful-priest-avoid-fr-tony-borgia-st-peters-church?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:112Discussion:b3b15621-6ddd-4857-a171-d937b381dad6Post:19d0c25c-7de4-4d3a-8205-6f95ffe39a1f">Re: MANSIELD----AVOID FR. TONY BORGIA @ ST PETERS CHURCH</a>:
    [QUOTE]I actually posted --or tried to post it --to the Ohio/Columbus board since that is where the wedding was...:-)
    Posted by Christied513[/QUOTE]

    Ooops, I am sorry. I misread that.
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    ensmandy5711ensmandy5711 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I have known Fr. Tony my entire life, so I guess I know his sense of humor, and I know he can be out there, like it or not. He knows more about marriage than you would think.. he has 8 siblings.. and comes from a very close family... He is very involved in their lives so I'd say he knows more about it than most. If the bride you were there for denies this, I will be in pure shock, but I know from the get go- Fr. Tony tells ALL of his couples his rules, and the drinking before the wedding is one of them. When a couple gets married in the catholic church, and then gets divorced, it comes back on the priest who married them... if there is anything that could have impaired the couples judgement, example, alcohol... then that priest could get in trouble for that. So before you get angry because you guys couldnt drink before the wedding, then i'm sorry for that. But in the big picture, the thing that should have mattered that day was the couple u were there for, and the fact they were embarking on the beginning of their life together. Instead of being mad for Fr. Tony, and the person he is, maybe you should be angry with the couple, because they CHOSE him to marry them. 
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