Couple married by Bishop Sweeney celebrates 25th wedding anniversary with him at cathedral

Just one look, and she was smitten. Peter Mastroianni and Chantal Marneffe met by chance at a Christmas party in Hobo­ken in 1996. Chantal said she was taken by Peter’s beautiful blue eyes.

For Peter, the attraction was mutual. They fell in love, got engaged nine months later, and married on Sept. 12, 1998, in St. Ignatius Loyola Church in Hicksville, N.Y.

The Mastroiannis’ strong faith has seen them through their 25-year marriage — and Peter’s fight with incurable blood cancer.

“When I first saw Peter, I noticed he was so good-looking and funny. Every day, he makes me laugh. That’s the secret sauce to our marriage,” said Chantal Mastroianni, 53. They have two sons in their 20s and belong to St. John Vianney Parish in the Stockholm neighborhood of Hardyston. “Faith is critical to our marriage. Many people are praying for Peter. It has given us clarity about life — what’s important.”

It so happens that Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney officiated the Mastroiannis’ wedding back in 1998 because of a Queens, N.Y. connection. Chantal and Bishop Sweeney were in the same social group that included friends from Queens, where they were both raised. She asked then-Father Sweeney — a new priest of the Brooklyn Diocese — to marry Peter and her.

On Nov. 12, the couple was among those celebrating significant wedding anniversaries. They all renewed their vows before Bishop Sweeney at the annual Silver & Gold Mass of the Paterson Diocese in the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Paterson.

“Bishop Sweeney was always friendly and funny — one of the gang,” said Chantal, who recalled when he showed his new car to the group, worked at Shea Stadium and entered seminary. “I’m lucky to have him as a friend. Pete and I were lucky to have been married by him, and the diocese is lucky to have him as its bishop.”

The Mastroiannis reconnected with Bishop Sweeney when he was ordained bishop of Paterson in 2020. She works in human resources for Enterprise Mobility. Peter, 54, is a freelance camera operator who has worked for NBC and ESPN.

“I was attracted to Chantal when I first saw her,” Peter said. “When we were dating, I could see she loved her family and was nurturing to me and others through her kind gestures. I thought, ‘This is the person I could spend my life with.’ ’’

Chantal’s caring nature has been a blessing for Peter, who was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma in 2004. He nearly died several times of the incurable blood cancer. Peter has been part of many clinical trials for life-saving medications, including several that have now been approved for use.

“God has a purpose for me. He is using me to go through this to help others. He — along with Chantal and my family — have given me strength,” Peter said.