Holiness in Marriage: Here Are Some Married Saints

United before men and before God, they were able to go further and share the journey of Faith all the way to holiness. Here are the Married Saints of the Church.

In a previous article we focused on the stories of brothers and sisters who became saints together. On that occasion we could see how, for many men and women of the past, the journey towards holiness began within the family, thanks to particularly devout parents — Saint Monica, mother of Saint Augustine, being a prime example — but also brothers and sisters who were models and encouragement for them in life as in Faith, as happened with Saints Cyril and Methodius, co-patrons of Europe, or with Saint Benedict and Saint Scholastica. Still focusing on examples of holiness born within the family, we cannot fail to mention the many examples of married saints. Indeed: the history of the Church counts a considerable number of saints who were married to each other. The first example that comes to mind when speaking of holy spouses is certainly that of Saint Joseph and the Virgin Mary, who with the Child Jesus form the Holy Family, always the point of reference to which every Christian family should look.

After all, the Catholic Church has always held the Sacrament of Marriage in high regard, a sacred bond that unites a man and a woman before Christ, the beginning of a shared path of life, but also of Faith. It is therefore inevitable that there should be couples of married saints, men and women who transcended the simple experience of Christian union, raising their souls to an even higher, solemn, indeed holy, level. And the meaning of that union they naturally passed on to their children too, from Saint Anne and Joachim, parents of the Virgin Mary, to Louis and Zélie Martin, the parents of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux and also the first married couple of saints canonised together.

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Oval shape Holy Family statue in white porcelain 8 in

The statue shows Joseph, Mary and Baby Jesus on a black base.

Joseph and Mary

We all know the story of the marriage of Mary and Joseph, remembered on 23 January and immortalised by many great artists of the past, Raphael among them. In the Gospel of Matthew (Matthew 1:18–25) we read that Mary was betrothed to Joseph when she revealed to him that she was with child. We must remember that for the Jews marriage was structured in two stages: the official betrothal, which was already a marriage in every respect, and a year later the bride’s entry into the house of the groom. So in fact Mary and Joseph were already married. Saint Joseph first decided to dismiss her quietly, so as not to expose her to scandal, but then, visited in a dream by the Archangel Gabriel, who informed him of the true nature of the child, he chose to remain by her side and to fulfil his duties as husband and putative father of the little Jesus. “When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife home. But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus” (Mt 1:24–25).

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Marriage of the Virgin Mary and St Joseph tapestry 23.4×15

Jacquard woven tapestry finished by hand and entirely made in Italy.

Thus Joseph and Mary were married, and together they gave life to the first iconic representation of a family unit: a loving and protective husband and father, a young and very gentle mother, later joined by the child Jesus. This is the model of the Christian family that we all know, and it is interesting to note how it began with the risk of abandonment by Saint Joseph, a risk prevented only by divine intervention and by the great faith of this meek and good man. After all, God chose Joseph of Nazareth, just as He chose Mary, destined for one another, descendants of King David’s lineage, destined to live in chastity and purity.

Saint Anne and Saint Joachim

Joachim and Anne were in all likelihood both members of the Jewish priestly class. Unfortunately, despite repeated attempts, they were unable to have a child, as was the case with Ismeria, Anne’s sister, and her husband. Joachim, weighed down by the dishonour of not being able to be a father, withdrew into the desert, among the shepherds, and it was here that an Angel appeared to him, announcing that soon a child would be born. Anne had received the same revelation, and the two met under the Golden Gate of Jerusalem, where they kissed, strengthening their union. According to legend, it was from that infinitely consoling kiss that the Virgin Mary was conceived without sin.

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Immaculate Conception by Murillo wooden statue painted

Statue in maple wood completely hand carved and painted by Italian craftsmen.

Saints Elizabeth and Zechariah

Saint Elizabeth, cousin of Mary (she was the daughter of Ismeria), and Saint Zechariah also could not have children. By then both were elderly, and while Zechariah was serving in the Temple he had a vision: the Archangel Gabriel announced to him the birth of a son. Zechariah, however, did not believe him, and Gabriel made him mute. Only after the birth of the child, who was named John as the Angel had commanded, did Zechariah speak again. That child would one day become John the Baptist. Famous too is the story of Mary’s visit to her cousin Elizabeth, when the latter was six months pregnant. At Mary’s greeting, the child leapt in her womb, recognising the future mother of Jesus. Elizabeth greeted Mary as “blessed among women.” This is the famous Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, commemorated by the Church on 31 May.

Aquila and Priscilla

Saint Priscilla and her husband Saint Aquila were two Jews converted to Christianity by Saint Paul, who was their guest during his visit to Corinth. To follow the Saint they travelled to Ephesus and then to Rome, where they became apostles of the Gospel and probably suffered martyrdom by beheading.

Louis and Zélie Martin

Louis Martin and Marie-Azélie (Zélie) Guérin met at the Saint Leonard Bridge in Alençon in April 1858, and from then on they joined their human and religious experience, marrying and remaining together until death. Deeply devout, devoted to charity and a daily domestic liturgy made up of prayer, charity and pious practices, they were parents to nine children. The five daughters survived and became religious, among them Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus, or Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face, that is, Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, canonised in 1925 and proclaimed Doctor of the Church in 1997. Zélie died in 1877, Louis in 1894, and they were beatified by Pope Benedict XVI in 2008 at Lisieux, the first among the married saints. The Church commemorates them on 12 July.

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Saint Therese of Lisieux(S.Therese of Child Jesus) wood painted Val Gardena

The statue is craved in Val Gardena,Italy and depicts St. Therese of Lisieux with a crucifix and colored roses in hand.

Saint Isidore and Saint Maria Toribia

Saint Isidore of Madrid, also known as Saint Isidore the Farmer, and his wife Maria Toribia were both very poor peasants. They lived around the year 1000 in Spain and shared a life of hard work, but also of devotion, piety and charity towards the poorest. Both illiterate, they often put dialogue with God before work, earning envy and jealousy from others. A model of faith and mercy for one another, they shared every sorrow and every joy, united in a grace of spirit that transcended their humble condition.

Saint Silvia and Saint Gordian

Saint Silvia was the mother of Pope Gregory the Great, Saint and Doctor of the Church. She and her husband Gordian lived in Rome in the 6th century AD, she a noblewoman, he a senator. United by love for God, they lived in two families renowned for their devotion and spirituality. Gordian’s two sisters also lived an almost monastic life, between penance and prayer. When Silvia was widowed she embraced the Benedictine rule and lived the rest of her life divided between prayer and works of charity, always taking care of her son, who was frail in health.

Meta description: Married men and women saints. Here are the couples remembered by the Church. When love and faith unite in the sacred bond of marriage blessed by Christ.