Woman Marries Jesus, Becomes Consecrated Virgin

Well, it should save on honeymoon airfare, anyway. A 38-year-old Indiana woman married Jesus Christ over the weekend, becoming one of his approximately 3,000 living wives worldwide, CBS News reports. The process is known as becoming a consecrated virgin and is relatively rare within the Catholic Church, with only about 200 in the US. She's not a nun: According to the United States Association of Consecrated Virgins, someone who marries Jesus lives a life of "perpetual virginity" dedicated to serving the church and performing works of mercy while still living in the secular world.

Jessica Hayes, a high-school theology teacher in Fort Wayne, tells CBS affiliate WANE she made the decision to become a consecrated virgin after lots of "prayer and soul-searching." She says she believes God calls all people to become married; for some that means wedding their spouse, while for others it means committing to Jesus. Despite the non-traditional groom, Hayes still wore the traditional wedding dress and faced the traditional wedding questions. "My students asked if they should call me Mrs. Hayes when I come back to school next week, and no, I'm still Ms.," she tells WANE. "But, I am married to Jesus." (More Catholic Church stories.)