Father makes appearance at daughter's wedding in most unbelievable, heart-warming way

'I'm so excited. The whole family is here now. It's like everybody is here.'

When Jeni Stepien's father was murdered by a robber in 2006, her heart broke. Now, ten-years later, a heart is what brought her tears of joy and mourning.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - "The murder and the wedding happened within a three-block radius," Jeni explained. "And I was just thinking, 'My dad is here with us, and this man is here with us because of us.'"

When Jeni's father was killed, his organs went to people in need.

His heart was given to Arthur Thomas, who traveled with his wife from New Jersey to Pittsburgh to appear at Jeni's wedding.

Jeni was in tears and she felt Thomas' chest, in which she felt an immediate emotional connection to her late father.

The bride was in tears but cried, "I'm so excited. The whole family is here now. It's like everybody is here."

Jeni and Thomas had been exchanging letters, flowers and gifts since he received the heart, making their meeting even more monumental.

"Just hugging him made me feel like I was close to my dad again which on this day was perfect," Jeni's sister, Michelle Stepien, shared. "It was what I needed."

Thomas explained: "Jeni wrote me a letter and she said 'Dear Tom, I'm the daughter of the man who's heart is inside of you and I'm gonna get married on August 6th. And one further thing if you're willing, would you walk me down the aisle?

Thomas asked his daughter for her permission, which she consented to, and that was that.

"First person I'll ever be walking down the aisle," Thomas laughed. "I thought that would be the best way for her to feel close to her dad. That's her father's heart beating."

Meanwhile, a very touched Jeni explained: "It's just like having my dad here and better because we get to share this story with people and other people see that organ donors do matter."

---

'Help Give every Student and Teacher FREE resources for a world-class Moral Catholic Education'

Copyright 2021 - Distributed by Catholic Online