Couple relate the joys of sex to Pope and his prelates

Pope Francis, cardinals and bishops from around the world have been given an unexpected lecture on the joys of sex, from an Australian couple brought in to talk about what makes a marriage last.

Ron and Mavis Pirola, Catholics and parents of four from Sydney, told a Vatican gathering of some 200 prelates that sexual attraction brought them together 57 years ago and that sex had helped keep them married for 55 years.

“The little things we did for each other, the telephone calls and love notes, the way we planned our day around each other and the things we shared were outward expressions of our longing to be intimate with each other,” the couple said in a statement to the closed meeting.