Manoel Angelim Dino and Maria de Sousa Dino have set a new Guinness World Record for the longest living marriage, sharing 84 years of love, faith, and life together.
Marriage is a covenant God designed to reflect His faithful love for us. In a time when many marriages barely reach a decade, Manoel and Maria’s 84-year journey together shines like a lighthouse, showing us what’s possible when keeping faith and love at the center of marriage.
How Their Story Began
It all started in the sunny fields of Brazil back in 1936. Manoel, who is now 105 years old, was picking up sweet sugarcane candy called rapaduras when he first spotted Maria, now 101. Nothing happened that day, but when they met again in 1940, sparks flew.
“I fell in love right away,” Manoel says. Maria felt the same way about him. But there was a problem – Maria’s mother wasn’t sure about Manoel.
So what did Manoel do? He didn’t just make promises. He started building a house! Brick by brick, he worked to create a home for Maria and their future family. His hard work won over Maria’s family, and they got married in November 1940. He was 21, and she was just 17.
Their Family Tree Keeps Growing
The couple worked side by side in the fields of Brazil, raising a big family. They had 13 children (nine are still living today). Now their family tree has grown to include 55 grandchildren, 60 great-grandchildren, and 14 great-great-grandchildren. That’s a lot of birthday presents!
Breaking World Records
On February 5, 2024, experts from LongeviQuest checked their marriage and made it official: Manoel and Maria had been married for 84 years and 77 days. This beat the old record held by an American couple, Herbert and Zelmyra Fisher, who were married for 86 years until Herbert died in 2011.
A Special Nightly Tradition
These days, Manoel and Maria enjoy quiet time in their home. Because he’s 105, Manoel needs a lot of rest. But every evening, without fail, he gets up for something special.
Manoel joins Maria in their living room where they sit side by side. Together, they listen to prayers on the radio and then watch Mass on TV. They’ve done this for years, keeping their faith at the center of their marriage.
Their Simple Secret
When people ask Maria how they stayed married for 84 years, she doesn’t give a long list of rules. She simply says: “Love.”
She adds, “Love. And that’s something even the most advanced computer could never calculate.” After 101 years of life, Maria knows what matters most.
The couple also talks about patience and faith. Through good times and hard times, they chose to love each other every single day for over 30,000 days in a row!
Even now, Maria smiles at Manoel the same way she did when she was a teenage bride. And Manoel still shows his love by getting up each evening, despite his age, to pray with his wife.
Manoel and Maria show us that lasting love grows from spending time together and praying side by side every day. When we put God at the center of our relationships and make time for each other, we build bonds strong enough to last a lifetime.
