The longer one waits to find a spouse, the more difficult it can be to find one, but Kerry, 57, and John, 63, never gave up.
Kerry, from Staten Island, NY joined CatholicMatch in December of 2013; she had never been married, but she still had hope that God would bring her a husband someday. “I had dated
through the years, but I never married because I never found Mr. Right.”
Kerry’s family was concerned about her meeting someone online because they didn’t think it was safe. “They thought that I wouldn’t really know for sure who the other person was on the other end that I was communicating with.”
A close friend knew that Kerry’s top requirement in a potential spouse was that he be a practicing Catholic, so she pointed out CatholicMatch to her, showing Kerry an ad on the back of the church bulletin. “With CatholicMatch being advertised on the back of my church bulletin, my family and I thought this site would be a secure and reputable one. We were right,” she recalls.
John Thought Kerry was Cute
Like Kerry, John had never been married, and he was still holding out hope that he would someday find a spouse. Kerry had only been a member for four months when John sent her a smiley face emotigram on March 20, 2014. "I thought she was cute," he says.
Kerry was charmed by John’s smile, so she answered his emotigram with a message. They communicated for over a month before meeting in person. On April 27, the two New Yorkers met for their first date at a restaurant in Staten Island where they shared a pizza. “Although I
cannot say it was love at first sight, I was very attracted to him physically and I was very interested in what he had to say about himself. At the end of our meeting, I told him that I would like to see him again,” Kerry recalls.
John adds, “I can’t say it was love at first sight for me either, but I was thinking that I would like to see her again.”
Their love for one another came on gradually. "I had been dating about a month when I was starting to fall in love with John. It was gradual. As I got to know John, I kept discovering things about him that I admired. He was the exact type of man that I had been looking for my whole life."
Kerry knew that John cared a lot for her, but he had trouble expressing it with words. "He told me he had problems with saying the "L" word. He said that he wasn't exactly sure what love was or what he was supposed to feel like. I told him what I thought love was about but I let him take his time."
They realized that they had a lot in common—besides both being practicing Catholics—and that they enjoyed being together. They liked spending time traveling to and exploring exotic locations and places they had never been to, seeking new adventures, seeing movies, walking, hiking, talking, and cooking together.
"We are both very active. We enjoy each other's company whether we are on the go or simply hanging out together. No matter what we are doing, we are always comfortable with each other," Kerry says.
Quiet Proposal
On a cold Sunday evening, on December 6, 2015, John and Kerry were having a deep conversation at her home. “The conversation started rather seriously, so I didn’t know what to expect. Then John said that he loved me, and he didn’t want to live without me.”
“I asked her to marry me, and she cried with happiness and said ‘yes’ right away,” John remembers.
Kerry adds, "I was surprised. We had talked about marriage for the future but in a casual way."
They will be joined in holy matrimony on June 25, 2016, at Kerry’s parish, Blessed Sacrament Church, on Staten Island.
"I tell everyone that we met on CatholicMatch! I think it is a miracle! I am so happy!" Kerry exclaims.
Her family may have initially been scared for her to meet someone online, but not anymore. "My family loves John and so do my friends. My aunt thinks our meeting is a 'miracle.'"
