In June of 2022, Valerine attended Mass, at Our Lady Of The Rosary church in Edgewater, where she was working with a doctor’s family away from her usual parish.
“I picked up a church bulletin, where I came across the printed advertisement of CatholicMatch. I felt inspired after my 3 o’clock prayer…and I joined and became a premium member!” she says. “I felt if it is the will of God, I will get a good companion. If I did not get anyone to share my life with, I would not be disheartened!”
Valerine, then 63, had lost her first husband twenty-seven years previously.
She had raised her son and daughter and now had two adorable grandchildren, as well. Even with her loving family around her, she felt that loneliness was overcoming her more and more each day.
In November of 2022, David, age 68, messaged her. He lived in Woodbridge, New Jersey, and she lived not far away in Metuchen. She messaged back less than a week later, and the two quickly found a lot in common.
They talked online for about two weeks and then chatted via texting for another week.
“We knew where our priorities lay,” Valerine explains. “Both of us were looking for a companion, as we were growing older by the day!”
In the middle of December, they met on their first date! They attended morning Mass at St. Cecilia church in Iselin, and then went to a cute coffee shop not far away in Woodbridge. They found themselves discussing their families, likes and dislikes, and didn’t want to end the conversation!
They both knew they wanted to keep seeing each other, and so centered their relationship on attending Mass daily together. Every day since that first date, they’ve gone to 9:45 Mass at Mount Carmel Church in Woodbridge. Valerine began spending Sunday afternoons at David’s house before returning to her own home in the evening.
They bonded over how much they had in common.
David had lost his beloved wife about one year before, and Valerine understood firsthand the difficulty he had been through during his time of grieving. Now, though, David was on his own in the world, while she had her children and grandchildren. Both of them delighted in the new companionship they found in each other.
So, three months into dating, the two knew they’d found their match and got engaged!
David told his brother and sister about this wonderful new woman, and Valerine talked to her kids and cousins about her new relationship.
These same cousins were the witnesses at David’s and Valerine’s wedding on March 25th, 2023. The ceremony took place at St Anthony of Padua church in Port Reading, New Jersey.
Many of their family members played active roles in the wedding celebration. David and Valerine now live in Woodbridge now, and David works as a senior clerk while Valerine is a homemaker, and waits for her working permit before starting a new job.
Photo credit belongs to Lee Smathers Photography LLC.
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