Veronica Clark knew very early on that the man for her was a Catholic man. She states that she loved meeting people and loved dating. But, she didn’t want to waste any time either, because she already knew her life goals and what she wanted out of dating: “I was on the hunt.” Veronica recalls. “I knew I wanted to be married and have kids. I wanted to be a mom and be a wife.”
But, finding a Catholic man wasn't very easy...
She found that finding Catholic options near her hometown of Stoneham, Massachusetts was a bit of a struggle, however. “This was before people had iPhones and apps” Veronica recalls about her dating life in 2008. She dated several people she met in person, but her options were limited as she staunchly refused to date a non-Catholic. She cites that the liberal Massachusetts area also wasn’t super Catholic-value friendly.
Then, her mom, Nancy, saved the day. Veronica recalls there was an advertisement for Catholic Match on the back of their church bulletin. “And, my mom was like: ‘Why don’t you try Catholic Match?’” She says. “And I was like, you know, what? It makes a lot of sense!”
So, Veronica dove headfirst into online dating.
She says she didn’t have any hesitations about online dating, even though it wasn’t super common back in 2008, because “I just wanted to find somebody!”
Another priority for her was staying close to her hometown. Thankfully, John Anzalone, a college student just out of the Navy at the time, was just within her 50-mile search parameters. “I really liked him because he was one of seven, and I’m one of nine. So, he had to be kinda good with kids!” Veronica jokes. She also admired his morals and values, and how he went to Mass every week.
John had been in the Navy stationed in Virginia.
“I got out of the Navy in 2004 and came home and realized I had to find someone. I saw an ad for Catholic Match in the church bulletin and signed up. I had talked to a few people for about six months but never actually met up with someone. This was pre-video chat, so it never went beyond messaging. Veronica was actually the first one I met up with. I guess I just got lucky!”
Perhaps luck, perhaps some divine intervention. . . John’s birthday, July 12th, is the feast day of St. Veronica! John thinks “We were truly meant to be!”
She had no shortage of dates...
Over several months, Veronica “dated a lot of guys one or two times". She approximates 8-10 different people on the site. Veronica states that there were definitely some mismatches in personality. She says some guys were shocked by her big personality and some weren’t practicing their faith like she was. “So after dating a couple of weirdos, and a couple who were not weird enough, I kept coming back to his [John’s] profile.”
John’s dating style wasn’t as gung-ho as Veronica. After a bit, she lost patience with messaging back and forth because as she states, “He was so slow! I wrote him off because he never asked for my number!” She moved on from talking with him, but then her CatholicMatch subscription ended.
A few months later, Veronica was remembering John’s and her messages back and forth and realized “I was a lot more interested than I thought"! She found him again and sent him a message...
This time, John didn’t waste any time asking her out! He came to pick up Veronica from her home for their first date on December 30th, 2008.
John says, “I was pretty nervous the whole way on the car ride.” Veronica on the other hand was cool as a cucumber. “I was an expert dater, so not my first rodeo!”
But, then she showed her mom John’s profile picture. “When I showed my mom his picture, she said ‘he looks kinda creepy’. So, I started to get nervous.”
The nerves didn’t last long though.
As soon as John arrived and they got to talk in person, they got along great. “He wasn’t creepy at all, I was so attracted to his face, and something about him was just SO NICE.” Veronica states. According to John, “We went out to eat at TGI Fridays and talked. She was easy to talk to, so my nerves quickly went away. We then went bowling. I really liked her. She was funny, naturally beautiful, and I knew I wanted to make the 1-hour car ride again to see her.”
Right from the start, they were opposites but completely complimentary.
She likes to talk, he is quiet. She has a big personality, while he is slow and steady; she’s a spender and he’s a saver. “I’m so outgoing, and he’s very steady! I’m always very talkative and opinionated. He’s such a steady, stoic, peaceful guy.”
During their dating life, they didn’t text or talk on the phone at all. “To this day, if John calls me from the office I know it’s an emergency” Veronica states. “He is very quiet, so he wouldn’t call me. I had to carry my stupid computer around. I remember sitting in the living room with my laptop messaging with him during movies with my family.”
But, they saw each other in person regularly. At first, she was hesitant, because of the busy drive. And she never wanted to leave her family and her hometown.
Veronica says she’ll never forget John’s response to her concerns. He said, “I will never complain about driving, and you’ll never have to leave Stoneham if you don’t want to.” Veronica was struck by his commitment to her. John would come out on Wednesdays and Saturdays to see her. And then, stay until 11 PM before driving home. And he is a man of his word - “To this day he has never complained!” she exclaims.
John proposed in September 2009.
“It was a Saturday. I went out to his house, and he had planned the whole day. We went to the carnival near his house with his brother and sister, then went out to eat.” Then John said, “let’s go to the beach.” It was freezing and John headed straight out to some picturesque rocks. Veronica recalls, “when I turned around, he said ‘I really love you, will you marry me?’”
The wedding came together quickly and smoothly in just nine months. Veronica’s childhood church was closing, and her mom begged the priest to marry them before the church closed. Veronica said she wasn’t stressed at all. They were just so happy and so ready to marry each other!
John had a different revelation regarding their big day. He shares that when he was in the Navy, “I moved into my own bedroom and on the wall was a painting of our Lady of Perpetual Help. I guess it was just there before I moved in. When I left the Navy and came home I took it with me. No real reason. I just felt the need to take it. I brought it home and gave it to my Mom and she amazingly told me she had been praying to Our Lady of Perpetual Help for me the entire time I was in the Navy. Years later, after I had already met my wife and we were married, my mom discovered that we got married on the actual feast day of our Lady of Perpetual Help! We had no idea. So she gave it [the painting] to me and we have it hanging in our living room to this day. Amazing that it was just there in my apartment. I always felt like she was watching over me and helped me find Veronica.”
The new couple bought a house a mile from Veronica’s Mom.
John has kept his word to keep his bride in her hometown. They live in the very same house to this day!
Nowadays, John is a cost estimator for construction companies. Veronica just had their 6th child in 10 years of marriage. She enjoys being a stay-at-home mom like she always wanted.
John says the earlier days were challenging: “I was still going to school when we had our first kid and I was working part-time. Veronica quit her job teaching to be a full-time mother. We went through some financial struggles during that time period. I still to this day don't know how we survived paying bills and a mortgage. We kept the faith that God would provide and somehow made it through.”
So, what is their advice for other singles on the hunt?
John says, “Our faith was the biggest attraction. Growing up with a mom and dad who practiced their faith showed me how important it is in a marriage and how important it is to raise kids in the faith. I still am very thankful that I found someone who has the same beliefs and values as me.”
And Veronica: “CatholicMatch is worth it! My advice is don’t give up, and DON'T go by profile picture! Find someone who lines up with your Catholic morals and values. When you have the same faith, and morals and values line up, everything else is secondary.”
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