In the muggy South Bend summer heat, Mayor Pete Buttigieg married partner Chasten Glezman.
The private service began at 4 p.m. Saturday, June 16, 2018, at the Cathedral of Saint James Episcopal church on Lafayette Boulevard, a block away from the mayoral office and the heart of downtown South Bend. Local news outlets were not allowed into 150-year-old church for the service, but the event was live streamed on the church’s YouTube channel.
During the 30-minute ceremony, friends and family members read passages from the Bible, poems and an excerpt from the Supreme Court case that legalized same-sex marriage, and the Rev. Brian G. Grantz delivered the sermon.
Afterwards, the couple drove away in a red 1961 Studebaker Lark to the LGBTQ Pride Week block party in downtown South Bend. There, the two were greeted by block party attendees and thanked the community for being supportive.
The union marked the first time in at least 40 years a sitting South Bend mayor has been married while in office.
“Chasten has done a great job of making sure things went well while I was putting in late nights at the office and he’s got a pretty demanding job as a teacher as well,” Buttigieg said. “We are not the only ones who have to balance work and life, but we had the benefit of the fantastic support of our friends, family and co-workers who made it possible for the community we’re serving and also to help us get ready for the best day of our lives.”
Buttigieg and Glezman celebrated with family and friends at a private reception in South Bend and said they were taking some time for themselves afterwards.
“For just a little while,” Buttigieg laughed.
