A $50 bet in high school led to marriage and a papal blessing in St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City.
Cody Theis and Lydia Cedarberg, now Lydia Theis, of Sts. Joachim and Anne in Shakopee first met while they were students at Prior Lake High School in Prior Lake. Lydia described Cody as a troublemaker in high school in 2018, when they were juniors. His reputation appeared to be well earned when Cody’s friends bet him $50 that he couldn’t get Lydia’s phone number.
When Cody approached Lydia and asked for her phone number, she told him no. He explained to her that there was a bet on the line. If she gave him her number, he’d split the money with her. Cody walked away with Lydia’s phone number and won the bet. He gave Lydia half the money, then texted her that day, “I have $25, want to go get a coffee?”
Over coffee, Cody and Lydia had deep discussions about politics and theology. Cody described himself as a cradle Catholic who drifted away from the Church without much direction. Upon discovering speakers like Scott Hahn and Bishop Robert Barron, he began to explore the world of Catholic and Protestant apologetics.
“Scott Hahn and Bishop Barron inspired me to take seriously the exploration of my faith by connecting the truth to the world that I was seeing around me,” Cody wrote in an email. “I originally fell into Protestant and Catholic apologetics, which exposed me to questions about my faith which I had not thought to ask. Through these speakers and many more I was able to answer every objection I came across. Once I became aware of Church history and the Patristic Fathers, I found the Catholic faith to be undeniable.”
Lydia, on the other hand, was born and raised Baptist with her own mix of non-denominational Christianity.
“We actually never learned anything about Mother Mary,” Lydia said. “All I knew was that she was just a woman who gave birth to Jesus.”
While they didn’t share the same faith, they found common ground in their political leanings. Cody and Lydia had similar values when it came to major issues, such as abortion and the environment.
Cody’s grandmother, Eileen Theis, supported the young couple’s journey into the faith. Eileen, who is Catholic, encouraged them to learn more and would often spark conversations about Catholicism.
“We talked a lot about faith formation and how important it is to live out what we believe,” Lydia said. “She always emphasized the beauty and importance of keeping up traditions, especially in our faith. One thing she really stressed was how crucial it is to understand why we do what we do and how it impacts our beliefs. My aunt, Renee, was also a huge part of our conversion. She would often ask, ‘Do you understand why we do this?’ It really made us think deeply about the faith.”
Cody and Eileen spoke at length about the importance of having a public commitment to God, and that he and Lydia’s marriage should reflect that commitment. Lydia said she saw how passionate Cody was about making sure they were surrounded by community at their wedding.
“They (Cody and Eileen) both emphasized the significance of being married in the Catholic Church and how, these days, many people are straying away from getting married in the house of God, choosing instead barns or government centers,” Lydia said. “They pointed out how that shift takes away from the solemn and sacred nature of the sacrament of marriage, which is meant to be a public declaration of our faith.”
Lydia said she wanted to find the truth in her faith. She studied voraciously, listened to podcasts and talked with family members and friends. Even though she wasn’t Catholic growing up, her grandmother, Maggie, would have Lydia and her siblings learn Catholic prayers when she babysat. When Lydia started going to Cody’s house for dinners, she noticed that his parents said the same Catholic prayers she’d learned as a child.
“That familiarity felt significant, like something was stirring in me,” Lydia said. “As I had more conversations with Eileen about Catholic doctrine — why Catholics believe in the pope, why we honor Mary — I started calling my grandmother to hear her perspective. She had been raised Catholic and had several uncles who were priests here in Minnesota. The moment everything truly clicked was when all of these women in my life answered the question: Who is Mother Mary? Their answers aligned perfectly with the Catechism and Scripture. And suddenly, the light bulb turned on — Mary wasn’t just the woman who gave birth to Jesus. She wasn’t just a good woman. She is the Queen of Heaven.”
In becoming Catholic, Lydia said, her newfound faith helped her embrace her own femininity. She saw strength, dignity and holiness in women of the Church.
“Catholicism didn’t just deepen my faith; it helped me understand who I was meant to be,” Lydia said.
After their engagement, Cody and Lydia discovered Cody hadn’t been confirmed. He decided to join Lydia in the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (OCIA) at Sts. Joachim and Anne. Every Wednesday, Lydia said, they would go to class and later bring their notes to Applebee’s for dinner. They ordered the cheapest appetizer, whatever happened to be on sale that night, and together they’d discuss what they learned.
This journey of faith together helped Cody and Lydia focus on creating a strong foundation for their own family. Coupled with marriage preparation, they were able to look at their own experiences, growing up in their respective families, and recognize what was helpful for them and what they could do better in raising their own children.
Lydia, a business manager at a charter school, said they hope to create a healthy family, so that “our kids can walk in that faith and not struggle the way we did. … If they have a question, we’ll be able to answer that for them. And our goal is to grow little saints.”
Both Cody’s parents and Lydia’s parents have been married for over 25 years. Witnessing their parent’s marriages and a societal drift away from traditional family structures motivated the couple to desire a strong, faith-filled family with both parents present in their children’s lives.
Nearly a decade after sharing $50 and a conversation over coffee, Cody, a concrete landscaper with his family’s business, and Lydia were married May 18, 2024, at St. Mary of the Purification in Marystown. Just six weeks before their marriage, Lydia was welcomed into the Catholic Church, and Cody was confirmed.
“I love when people ask, ‘Why are you Catholic?’ And I just love to say. ‘Because it’s the truth,’” Lydia said. “Catholicism just goes back to the roots.”
Inspired by a friend of Lydia’s family who after getting married had a visit with the pope, Cody and Lydia arranged to have their own audience with Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Square with about 50 other couples, a few of whom were pregnant. At that gathering, four days after their wedding, Pope Francis blessed them. Later, Cody and Lydia had an opportunity to hear Pope Francis’ general audience, which was translated into many languages for pilgrims.
“His message focused on Catholic unity, the importance of staying faithful, and the need to protect life,” Lydia said. “His words deeply resonated with us and strengthened our commitment to living out our faith.”
