Bart didn’t know at the time, but the “match” CatholicMatch paired him with would be his future wife Nunnia!
But at the time, he didn’t reach out to her.
“I liked her picture, but . . . she lived in Mexico,” he said. But then, three days later, he saw a simple message: “Hola Bart!” from this same lady. He replied, thinking nothing would probably come of it. Come to find out, Nunnia was about to fly to Houston Texas the next day, to meet up with some high school friends at one of their vacation homes in The Woodlands. Oddly enough, this was right where Bart was going to be, although he technically lived in Houston. So, boldly, Nunnia asked Bart if he would like to meet up while she was there.
“My first thought was, why not, of course! I am always down for an adventure,” Bart remembers. So the next day, June 27th of 2021, they met up . . . along with all eleven of Nunnia’s friends!
Bart must have had nerves of steel, because their first date went very well. He learned Nunnia had a close call renewing her Visa just days before, without which she wouldn’t have been able to fly in to visit her friends. And thus, would never have met Bart. She also told Bart she didn’t like his CatholicMatch profile at all!
“Three days before her journey, she didn’t like it, not interested!” Bart laughs. Thankfully, CatholicMatch prompted their match one more time the day before her flight. Nunnia decided to take a long shot, since they would be in the exact same location anyway.
So the twelve of them went to Mass together, taking a picture all together to commemorate the meeting. Nunnia went on her friends’ vacation, and Bart returned knowing he wanted to pursue Nunnia.
The two got to know each other better over the next couple of weeks, and found they had lots of common ground.
Both had previous marriages which ended in annulments. They each had five children, as well, in similar ages. Nunnia’s psychology practice was in Guadalajara Mexico, and Bart lived in Houston, Texas. Just a couple weeks later, Bart was planning a trip to Mexico to meet up with Nunnia again. And this time, both were sure they wanted to pursue a relationship.
“I asked her to be my girlfriend in Mexico City on July 16th, 2021, right after visiting the Basilica of Saint Mary of Guadalupe,” Bart remembers. It happened to be the feast day of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, which was Nunnia’s favorite Marian apparition stories. She shared the event, as well as the tradition of the brown scapular and Marian consecration, with Bart that day. “I hadn’t heard this story before. I got goosebumps . . . and yes, I now wear a brown scapular!”
It was in this very same location that Bart proposed.
He chose to get on one knee in front of Juan Diego’s famous cloak, and of course, Nunnia said yes!
“Nunnia is perhaps wiser than Solomon, stronger than Samson, more patient than Job, and has the heart of David,” Bart says of his fiancee. He loves her spunkiness, type A personality, and magnificent smile.
They plan to marry in Guadalajara at Saint Josemaria Escriva de Balaguer Catholic Church.
“We chose this day because it will be the feast day of The Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary, who shows us how to live and love God,” Bart says.
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