Peter Kreeft shares ‘profoundly moving’ marriage advice after wife of 63 years dies

Catholic philosopher Peter Kreeft, grieving the loss of his wife of 63 years, illustrated the spiritual love of marriage, saying how even viewing her body after death he fell in love again.

(LifeSiteNews) — Catholic philosopher Peter Kreeft, who lost his wife of 63 years in late May, spoke candidly about love and marriage during a recent interview with podcaster Matt Fradd. In the episode of Pints with Aquinas titled “Love, Loss and the Meaning of Suffering” released Monday, Kreeft, 89, responded to a question about advice for newlyweds or those preparing for marriage in the context of the passing of his bride Maria Antoinette Kreeft.

During the interview, Fradd asked Kreeft what guidance he would give to someone who is newly married or about to be married. Kreeft replied, “Do you think that when you are very old and your wife is very old and ugly and wrinkled and fat and not very bright or even nasty that you will still find her beautiful? If so, marry her,” the philosophy professor advised.

“The last view I had of my wife in the nursing home about an hour after she died, I fell in love with her again. Here is a wasted, emaciated, wrinkled suffering body. It’s as beautiful as a crucifix, because that body ain’t going to last, but the soul is.

So if you don’t love her soul but just love her body, don’t get married,” he emphasized. I found this bit today between @RealMattFradd and Peter Kreeft profoundly moving (Kreeft’s wife of 60+ years recently died). It’s no wonder marriage is a type of Christ and His Church.

If we love His Catholic Church only if Her body is beautiful, we are not truly loving Her. pic.twitter.com/vAiqrtktLx — Joshua Charles🇻🇦 (@JoshuaTCharles) July 13, 2026 In the full episode, Kreeft described his marriage as being “like every marriage, a blend of joys and sorrows.”

Yet having written more than 100 books, the longtime Boston College professor drew the analogy, stating, “the most important book I ever wrote was my marriage. That was my primary vocation. She has been the best thing in my life, the most important thing in my life.

And we finished the book. And it has been a success.” “The round peg and the square hole met and they married.

And although we had a lot of ups and downs, we ended on a high note. And the book went home to the printer,” he said. Illustrating this point further, Kreeft recalled his ride home from the nursing home after Maria’s death, stating, “of course, I was weeping.

And suddenly, God reminded me that this was a triumph. This was not a defeat. And I said, ‘Hey, kiddo, we made it.’

And the tears turned into wild laughter.” “It’s a triumph,” he reemphasized. “Of course, death is a tragedy, and nothing could be more tragic than the death of your spouse.

That’s the other half. And yet, it was a tremendous success, a wonderful success.” Kreeft joined the faculty of Boston College as a philosophy professor in 1965 where he remains and has been a prolific author, including in the additional fields of theology and apologetics as well.

He converted to Catholicism as a young man, and since Maria was the only Catholic girl he knew when he was baptized at age 21, he asked her to be his godmother. He explained how later, with a special dispensation from the pope, he was allowed to marry his godmother, Maria Antoinette Massi, in the Bronx, New York, in 1962. According to Maria’s obituary, the couple has been blessed with four children, five grandchildren and four great grandchildren.