This saintly couple shows what it’s like to have a fruitful marriage without children

Catholic spouses are called to "bear fruit," and the Leseurs show what that can look like in action.

Servant of God Élisabeth Leseur had an unusual marriage. She and her husband, Félix Leseur, didn’t share their faith: She was Catholic and he was atheist. That’s common enough. But what’s extraordinary about their story is that she privately besought God to bring about her husband’s salvation, and after her early death of cancer, Félix not only converted to Catholicism but was ordained a priest.

Their story is the subject of a recent book: Salt and Light: The Spiritual Journey of Élisabeth and Félix Leseur by Bernadette Chovelon. One of the many interesting points Chovelon makes is that their marriage was wonderfully fruitful, even though they were never able to have children.

“Élisabeth and Félix Leseur regretted not being able to have children,” Chovelon writes. Nonetheless “their contribution was immensely rich.”

Catholic spouses are called to have fruitful marriages, and the Leseurs offer an important witness of what that looks like in action. Here are 5 spiritual fruits that Élisabeth and Félix Leseur showed the world, both together and separately.

(Slideshow) This saintly couple shows what it’s like to have a fruitful marriage without children

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