"The richness of faith and married love shown by Luigi & Maria Beltrame Quattrocchi is a living demonstration of what the Second Vatican Council said about all the faithful being called to holiness,'' the pope said in his homily. "They lived an ordinary life in an extraordinary way,'' demonstrating that sainthood for married couples is "possible and beautiful''.

The Pope assigned a Feast Day for Luigi & Maria. Usually, the Feast Day for a saint is the date of their death; however, since the couple has two different dates of death, this posed a problem. In an unprecedented step, designed to celebrate the coupleness of Luigi & Maria, November 25th was designated the Feast Day for the couple, to commemorate the anniversary of the date of their marriage in 1905.

As a result of this elevation we have "adopted" Blessed Luigi & Maria as the patron saints for Worldwide Marriage Encounter in our area. We ask for their prayers and intervention in filling our Weekends, opening the hearts of couples to attend a Weekend, and blessing couples during the Weekend.

Here are some links that detail the lives of Luigi & Maria, and the story of their elevation to "Blessed".

Pope John Paul II's homily on October 21, 2001
Catholic Times Online story
An interview with two of Luigi & Maria's four children
News story & commentary
"Heroic in Marriage"
Patron Saints Index: Luigi Beltrame Quattrocchi
Patron Saints Index: Maria Corsini

Hope for Troubled Marriages: A site honoring Blessed Luigi & Maria