Pope Francis told around 45,000 faithful in St Peter's Square that marriage between a man and a woman was a image of God's love during his general audience on Wednesday.
"When a man and a woman celebrate the sacrament of marriage, God is reflected in them," the Argentine pontiff said.
"He imposes His features in them and the indelible character of His love.
"The image of God is the married couple - not just the man, not just the women, but both... and this is very beautiful". Francis has made openings to gay people since being elected the head of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics last year, saying on one occassion "who am I?" to judge homosexuals who seek God.
But the fact he stressed the importance of marriage between a man and woman pn Wednesday is likely to be interpreted as a reiteration of the Church's opposition to the legalisation of gay marriage in some parts of the world.
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