He Was Bored One Day, So He Joined CatholicMatch and Found His Wife!

In the summer of 2016, Virginia was just about ready to call it quits on her CatholicMatch membership. She’d been a CM member for at least 5 of those years and had gone on “a few dates,” but “none of them really went anywhere.”

Just before deleting her profile, she received a message from Sean...

Virginia was divorced and also received an annulment for her previous marriage. She was eager to try and find a second chance at love.

He got bored one day and created a CatholicMatch profile!

Sean had been widowed the October previous when his wife of 34 years, Paulette, passed away unexpectedly. Afterwards, in his words, he “wasn’t doing so great,” so he signed up for a grieving class at a local Catholic church. In one of the class handouts, there was mention of CatholicMatch. He said, “At 61 years of age I planned on closing it out alone but being bored one day I got on the website.” 

Sean noted that his daughter-in-law runs a prominent and very successful matchmaking business, and she “would have been thrilled to help me find a match.” But for him, finding a fellow Catholic was paramount. Fortunately, he didn’t have to wait long to meet his forever match!

He messaged her to tease her about her favorite sports teams!

Within a few months of joining CM, Sean came across Virginia’s profile. He recalled, “While checking possible matches I saw a cute Latina who said her favorite sports were rugby, hockey, football, and wrestling. I didn't know there was a woman alive who liked those sports. She did say, however, two of her favorite teams were the Detroit Redwings and the Denver Broncos which are serious rivals to my teams the Colorado Avalanche and the Kansas City Chiefs.” 

In his first message, Sean jokingly communicated that “ I liked her sports but she had the wrong teams”! Sean’s message made Virginia laugh! For her part, Virginia felt just as strongly about her teams! She quickly wrote back to “give him some grief about his teams, but I was sure that since we were from Omaha, Nebraska, we were surely both Husker fans and that we could find some common ground there.” 

They found they share a deep devotion to the Blessed Mother.

Aside from noting their mutual love of sports, she was thrilled to read that his faith was just as important to him as hers was to her! They both have a particular devotion to the Blessed Mother, expressed especially through praying the rosary. When she was growing up, Virginia’s family had prayed the rosary together every night. Sean’s own mother had also prayed the rosary frequently, and to this day he prays the rosary when he walks one of the couple’s dogs! 

First date...

Sean and Virginia met for a first in-person date in June of 2016, just a few weeks after that first message. Both were delighted to find they shared “an instant connection,” in no small part because, as Virginia said, “we have SO MANY things in common!” The couple found they both like watching old Westerns and old movies, listening to the same kinds of music, working out together, and cheering on their favorite sports teams. (Sean calls Virginia “a closet Chiefs fan” now!) The couple are Kansas City Chiefs season ticket holders, as Sean has been for 25 years now, frequently making the 6-hour round trip drive to take in the games. Their biggest commonality, of course, comes from their shared Catholic faith.  

A beautiful October wedding!

On October 19th, 2019, Sean and Virginia were married in the presence of two priests and 170 friends and family members. The couple was grateful for the support of his adult daughter and son as well as her adult daughter and son, and thrilled to celebrate with as many of Sean’s 5 siblings and their families and Virginia’s 5 siblings and their families as possible! During the wedding, a musician sang the Hail Mary in Spanish and another musician sang an Irish song to the tune of “Danny Boy.” 

Both Sean and Virginia were in awe of God’s presence on their wedding day. Virginia remembered, “sitting on the altar with such peace and joy in my heart being next to my Sean, my soulmate. God had truly blessed us!!!” The couple weren’t the only ones feeling the love that day. Virginia continued, “We heard from numerous friends and family that our wedding ceremony was the most beautiful they had ever attended. I remember when we walked down the aisle and people were crying at the beauty and the Holy Spirit was truly present.” 

“A house united” was the theme of their reception.

At a small reception that Virignia described as “AWESOME!”, the couple chose “A house united” as the theme for their wedding cake! On one side was the Mexican flag, and on the other was the Irish flag. The cake also featured the logos of their favorite sports teams. In the center on the top were the words “A house united,” an apt summation of their new union! 

Here’s why she didn’t move in right away after the wedding...

Sean and Virginia had a rather unusual living arrangement for the first year of their marriage…due to their dogs! In Omaha, 3 dogs are allowed at one residence, and at the time of their marriage Sean had 1 dog and Virignia had 3. The couple opted to wait a year to move in together, at which time Virginia was down to 2 dogs. 

Virginia observed that the wait was actually a blessing in disguise, since “COVID hit, both my adult children had to move home to my house and my Dad had to be taken care of due to his diabetes getting worse. We trusted in God so we decided it was best for me to live in my house for a while to take care of my Dad who lived a few minutes away and so my kids could have a place to stay as well. After COVID, my amazing Dad passed away and is in Heaven with my Mom. One of my beloved dogs passed away and we sold my house so I could move in with Sean. It all worked out for a reason.”

“I found a love I didn’t know was possible”

Sean and Virginia have shared three happy years of marriage together thus far. The retired Omaha Police Officer (him) and current library paraprofessional (her) continue to learn from and introduce each other to new things. She’s taught him about nutrition and he’s taught her about working out. They credit God, ultimately, working through the vehicle of CatholicMatch, for bringing them to where they are now, “heading in the same direction, trying to get each other to Heaven.” 

Virginia shared words of wisdom for singles of any age who might be feeling reluctant to try CatholicMatch. “My advice to anyone thinking about joining CatholicMatch is to GO FOR IT. Be patient and pray to God to bring someone into [your life]. Give it to God and if it is His will, no matter how long it takes, It will happen.” Sean added, “ I was hesitant to try Catholic Match and I'm so grateful I signed on. I found a love I didn't know was possible.”