FLATBUSH — On Aug. 28, Jules and Leonie Pierre-Louis celebrated 50 years of marriage, a union they agree has always been built on their shared Catholic faith.
“I thank God for our 50 years of marriage,” Jules said. “Before God, you marry, and you get your wife forever until God calls you. No matter what happens, you are supposed to stay with her, and she’s supposed to stay with me.
“Thank God we haven’t had any problems; we trust in God and God protects us.”
To mark the occasion, the Pierre-Louises began the day with Mass at Our Lady of Refuge Church, one of the many parishes they attend in their Flatbush neighborhood.
Father Yvon Jean Pierre, pastor of Our Lady of Refuge-Holy Innocents Parish, celebrated the Mass. He gave the couple communion first and blessed them with holy water at the end of Mass, which earned a round of applause from the parishioners.
For them, Mass is a reminder of the vows they made before God in 1975.
“We always go to Mass every first Friday and every Sunday, even when we are not in this country,” Jules said. “When we go into another country, the first thing we think about is finding another Catholic church.”
Jules and Leonie met when they were both 23 years old in their home country, Haiti, in 1969. When they met, Leonie was a typing instructor and Jules her student.
“The first time I saw her, I said, ‘This is the lady I want to become my wife,’ and I [told] her that too,” Jules said.
“After I finished working, he would bring me home, and [we talked] about everything,” Leonie said.
The two started dating a year later. As the couple got to know each other, Leonie said she knew Jules would make a “great husband.” Their values aligned with one another, she said, as they both agreed that marriage should never end in divorce, only in death.
They dated from 1970 until officially tying the knot five years later.
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While dating, they both acknowledged that they had to consider what was permissible in their Haitian culture at the time, as it was frowned upon for young adults to be alone with one another, especially for women. Jules explained that the couple couldn’t even attend Mass together because they needed to be married first.
“The first date was Dec. 28. We went to a party and danced together. It was my first joy with her,” Jules said. “We were dancing, but it wasn’t only us; some family members came. They didn’t let us go together.”
He and Leonie both laughed at the memory, recalling how protective their families were.
Together, the couple has raised a son and a daughter, who are now adults, and cherish the joy of having two grandchildren — one, a 4-year-old, and another who will be 7 months old in February.
From the beginning, their relationship has been rooted in prayer, trust in God, and one another. Each morning and every night before bed, they pray together.
“Without our God, we are nothing,” Jules said, as his wife nodded in agreement, softly affirming his words. “Every day we ask God to strengthen our faith because it is very important for us.”
“God always keeps us firm,” Leonie said. “We never argue,”
As they reflect on five decades together, Jules and Leonie say the secret isn’t complicated — keep outside people away from your sacred union.
“I have a good husband. I never have a problem with him, and I have nothing bad to say about him. Even my family, if they bother me, I say, ‘leave me alone, I’m okay with him,’ ” Leonie said. “I have to see the [problem] for myself.”
Jules said he reiterated this message during his speech at his daughter’s wedding.
“When I finished my speech, I told them not to let anyone into your private life,” he explained. “They want to put trouble in the family. They always have something to tell you, to make you mad.”
Another secret is that they keep no secrets from each other and have only one joint financial account.
“What is hers is mine, and what is mine is hers,” Jules said.