The Office of Family Life celebrated National Marriage Week by announcing the results of the search for the Archdiocese of New York’s longest-married couple.

To be considered, contestants needed to be married for at least 65 years. 

Marilyn and Donald Colucci, of St. Francis of Assisi parish in West Nyack were the winners, approaching 69 years of marriage, having tied the knot in October 1953. 

Also noted were Kathleen and Donald Trees of St. Mary of the Snow – St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church in Saugerties, who married in 1954; Eileen and Edward Furey, married in 1956, of St. John the Evangelist Church in Mahopac; and Alberta and Manuel Buccini of Church of the Resurrection of Rye, married in 1957.

The Office of Family Life is undertaking specific initiatives, including parish revitalization, focusing on marriage and the family, and the parish as a place where all parishioners may connect. A similar effort is being made in regard to the marriage catechumenate, a Vatican-led process that “prepares Catholic couples for marriage and accompanies married couples throughout life,” Theodore J. Musco, director of the Office of Family Life said in an interview with The Good Newsroom.

National Marriage Week concludes Tuesday, February 14, with the celebration of the feast day of St. Valentine.