Heaven let Leo's mom know not to interfere in her son's love life. His mom initially objected when Leo told her that he planned to ride his motorcycle over 400 miles—from Santa Fe to Boulder— to see a lady he met on CatholicMatch.
"At that very moment across the house, my mother's treasured crucifix fell off the wall with a thud," Leo, 58, says.
Leo's mom thought she better not get in the way of God's plans for Leo.
There were not enough matches nearby!
When Leo joined CatholicMatch, he initially felt a little frustrated about the dearth of potential matches in his area. To improve his odds of meeting someone, he decided to increase the search radius. "The number of potential matches increases as one increases the distance," explains the 58-year-old.
Leo expanded his search beyond 250 miles, and that's when he noticed a pretty lady named Teresa from Boulder, Colorado.
"You have an accent." "No, you have an accent!"
After trading many in-depth emails with each other, Teresa and Leo decided to talk over the phone. The first conversation was exciting, but each good-naturedly accused the other of having an accent. After several phone calls, they both anticipated their first in-person meeting. The couple decided they should meet at a neutral, public place.
They met by the baptismal font!
Teresa and Leo chose to meet at a Catholic church, roughly halfway between their homes. He rode his motorcycle, singing in his helmet and praying the rosary for the entire ride. Teresa talked with members of her personal posse on her drive.
"We met by the baptismal font and walked together up the aisle to the front pew and prayed—somewhat breathlessly," Teresa, 52, recalls.
After Mass, the couple walked out together, hand in hand, to a nearby grill for lunch and conversation about the relationship and the apparent logistics. Teresa blurted out, "I can't move. Can you?" Leo felt that Teresa was a pearl of great price if he ever met one, so he answered, "Yes."
Long drives and an Adoration chapel proposal.
Despite the 416 miles between them, Leo and Teresa met up almost every weekend. Since their second date, both felt sure that they met "the one." They traveled the distance for months until everything fell into place for them to marry. And Leo's mom couldn't have been happier about the prospect of Leo marrying Teresa.
Leo chose to propose to Teresa in the Adoration chapel that they frequented. "It was the perfect place and very meaningful to have Christ right there with us," she says. "It also felt significant because it provided an additional confirmation for me that I found the right man who would propose in front of the Blessed Sacrament."
Then, a parish hall reception!
On April 30th, 2016, the Sacred Heart of Mary Catholic Parish, in Boulder, looked resplendent with all of the flowers, the parish choir sounded amazing, and the parish hall became beautifully transformed into a festive gathering space, shares the couple. The wedding Mass manifested Teresa and Leo's hopes and prayers for a sacramental marriage.
A nod to past wedding traditions, Leo and Teresa decided to have their wedding reception in the parish hall. "It was the best place to hold the reception because it made the parish community the center of our celebration," says the couple whose first marriages were annulled.
After the wedding, it took Leo two years to make his career transition to end the weekly commuting altogether. Teresa had the patience of a saint, saying, "I know the value of my vow."
"Jumping Jesus!"
Remember that crucifix that mysteriously fell off the wall when Leo's mom didn't want him to travel so far on his motorcycle? It now holds a special place in the couple's home.
"After my mother passed, I inherited "Jumping Jesus." Our treasure has the place of honor in our home to this day, with a candle near it that's always lit," says Leo.
