PARK SLOPE — Josephine and Cristobal Rodriguez’s devotion to praying the rosary together every morning at the kitchen table is such that if their daughter Yolanda happens to call, they have the same reaction every time.
“They hang up on me!” Yolanda said.
That’s because nothing interferes with the couple’s devotion to their Catholic faith. That goes not just for the rosary but also for the time they spend afterward watching the daily Spanish language Mass broadcast on NET-TV.
The Rodriguezes said they have always put their faith at the center of their marriage, and it might just be the perfect recipe for a long, happy life together.
The couple has been married for 71 years. They walked down the aisle at Queen of All Saints Church in Fort Greene on July 3, 1953.
Josephine, 90, and Cristobal, 93, were among dozens of couples from around the Diocese of Brooklyn who renewed their marital vows at a special Mass on Saturday, Sept. 28, at St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Flatlands. The celebration was dedicated to long-married couples as well as couples marking milestone anniversaries.
Bishop Emeritus Nicholas DiMarzio celebrated Mass and blessed the couples.
“You see these people are really faithful Catholics and also faithful to marriage, and they’re so happy to be here,” Bishop DiMarzio told The Tablet. “They’re all joyous.”
Josephine and Cristobal, who first met as teenagers in Moca, Puerto Rico — she was 13 and he was 16 — said the secret to a happy marriage is putting faith first.
“I thank God for the lovely daughter that we have and all the blessings that we received from God,” Josephine said. “Every day, I wake up and thank God for everything he gave us.”
Cristobal said daily rituals, like praying the Rosary and watching the Mass, bring them closer together. Although, he admitted that his wife sometimes has to give him a nudge.
“If I’m drinking coffee, she’ll tell me to put the coffee down and come and watch the Mass,” he explained.
On weekends, the Rodriguezes attend Mass in Brooklyn at either Our Lady of Peace Church or St. Thomas Aquinas Church.
Aside from putting faith at the forefront, the couple has other tips for a happy marriage.
“I believe that love, respect, and communication are the most important things in a marriage. When you have that, you can survive,” Josephine said.
For Cristobal, the key is to avoid letting arguments get out of hand.
“Never go to bed angry,” he advised.
It’s also important to avoid stubbornness, he said.
“Spanish men think that they are macho men, but I don’t believe in that. If we have an argument and I come to the conclusion that she’s right, I control myself because it makes no sense to continue arguing,” Cristobal explained.
Bishop DiMarzio touched upon a similar theme in his homily.
“I emphasized the issue of divorce today, unfortunately, which I think is a lot due to people not being able to say they’re sorry. People have a problem and think that’s it. They stop trying,” he said.
Josephine and Cristobal were born and raised in Moca, Puerto Rico. Josephine came to the U.S. mainland at age 16 and lived in a boarding house her aunt ran on Baltic Street in downtown Brooklyn.
Cristobal, who was smitten with her back in Puerto Rico, followed suit and came to New York. “She has beautiful lips and beautiful eyes,” he said.
The couple reconnected and started dating in 1950.
They were married three years later, when Josephine was 19 and Cristobal was 22. Yolanda, their only child, was born in 1954.
Josephine worked various jobs and later found a position in the loan department at Citibank, where she worked for nearly 30 years until her retirement.
When Cristobal first arrived in Brooklyn, he lived in the basement of a house on DeKalb Avenue. He slept next to the boiler. “Before I went to sleep, I looked through a small window and saw two cats looking at me,” he recalled.
Cristobal got a job at a bakery and worked there for nearly 40 years. He found a job at Citibank, typing documents. He retired 30 years ago at age 63.
They remembered their wedding day as a joyous day, but one with funny mishaps. At the photo studio after the ceremony, the little boy serving as the ring bearer was playing with the photographer’s camera when he accidentally dropped it on the floor, smashing it into pieces. Unlike the camera, Josephine and Cristobal are still together in one piece and are still deeply in love.
Looking at her husband, Josephine said she is grateful for her life.
“I am lucky to have lived a long life with my husband,” she said. “And thank God that we love each other and we’re still together.”