Woman Marries Jesus Christ In A Wedding Ceremony That Attracted Hundreds

Hundreds came out last Saturday to watch an Indiana woman, Jessica Hayes, 38,  marry Jesus, the son of God in downtown Fort Wayne and become a consecrated virgin.

Consecrated virgins are similar to nuns in that they live chaste lives. But they do not live in convents and they are not obliged to take on any particular work for the Catholic Church.

Jessica Hayes, 38,  who is a theology teacher at Bishop Dwenger High School in Fort Wayne, said she decided to become an consecrated virgin after years of prayer and soul-searching. And for the

occassion, wore a wedding dress.

She says she will continue to live her normal life at home - only now she will not be able to get married to anyone else or to have sex for the rest of her life.

'My students asked if they should call me Mrs. Hayes when I come back to school next week, and no, I'm still Ms. But I am married to Jesus.'

As a consecrated virgin, Hayes may not have 'knowing and deliberately' engaged in sexual relations in the past.

'I think that in some sense, we're all called to be married. It's just a matter of discerning how. So, my marriage is to Christ and someone else's marriage is to their spouse,' she told WANE.

Hayes is the first woman to become a consecrated virgin in the Fort Wayne-South Bend Catholic Diocese in the last 25 years. There are roughly 3,000 consecrated virgins in the world and more than 200 in the United States.