Can Catholic Married Couples Become Saints?

[JamesAnthony12]

Can Catholic married couples become saints? I see a need for all Catholic couples to step up and become the saints God calls us all to be. I feel it is just as holy and grace-filled of a calling to be called to married life as it is to be called to the celibate life.

 

[Fr.Eric_Filmer]

Greetings.

The glossary of the United States Catholic Catechism for Adults defines the word, “vocation” as follows:

Vocation: The term given to the call to each person from God; everyone has been called to holiness and eternal life, especially in Baptism. Each person can also be called more specifically to the priesthood or to religious life, to married life, and to single life, as well as to a particular profession or service.

Although the New Testament teaches that celibacy has a particular value (i.e., Matthew 19:12 and First Corinthians 7:8; 7:27–34, 38), God calls all people to be saints and gives everyone the grace to be holy. Naturally, this applies to the vocation of married life, just as it does for the vocations of priestly and religious life, and single life.

The Church has canonized a number of married people, including St. Elizabeth of Hungary, St. Thomas More, and St. Elizabeth Ann Seton. There are also married couples considered saints, such as Saints Joachim and Anne (the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary), Saints Isidore (“the Farmer”) and Maria, and (in more recent times) Bls. Luigi and Maria Beltrame Quattrocchi and Bls. Louis and Zélie Martin (the parents of St. Therese of Lisieux).