Leanor and Pedro met on CatholicMatch just four months before they were married! They are both 53 years old and live in Ontario, Canada.
Because of the uncertainty of modern dating online, there was also a lot of anxiety for both of them about meeting with a stranger. Based on past experiences, they were scared that they might get catfished. However, both Pedro and Leanor said that they found comfort in how thoroughly the profiles on CatholicMatch are able to show a person’s level of faith and lifestyle.
Leanor said that one of her favorite features of Catholic Match is the ability to determine where members stand in their faith. The comprehensive profile questions helped establish a certain comfort level with each other before meeting. Pedro said, “By viewing someone’s profile you know how strong in their faith they are and you can assess the potentiality of a connection with them.”
Before turning to Catholic Match, both Leanor and Pedro had found little success on other dating apps.
It was especially hard for them both to find partners who were equally committed to the Catholic faith and lifestyle.
Leanor said that she has been dating online for years and had many disappointments, but thanks to Catholic Match she was able to find the right guy. “In my case, I knew that there was a risk of all the difficulties and challenges that online dating may bring, but I think that if you don’t take any risk you never win anything.”
On dates, they spoke about their life histories and their faith. They discussed issues they had both faced in previous relationships, and established early on that they wanted Christ to be at the center of their relationship. They often prayed together, and still do now that they are married.
They also made a strong commitment to chastity during their courtship, an important deciding factor for both of them. In fact, it was Leanor’s openness about her desire for a chaste relationship that drew Pedro to her profile.
“For us, the Theology of the Body has been a very important church teaching,” Leanor spoke about the Theology of the Body on her profile on CatholicMatch. She wanted to show her potential matches that within a marriage that is blessed by God, sexuality is beautiful but fleeting, and that faith and love last forever. Like the Wedding at Cana, when you invite God into your wedding feast, the love and attraction will never run out.
Their engagement was very informal, but special nonetheless.
They were sitting together and began talking about the potentiality of marriage. In an exciting moment, Pedro asked Leanor the question: “Would you like to be my wife?” Leanor immediately said yes. Pedro did not have a ring, but Leanor did have a gift for Pedro!
She presented him with a Cross pendant that said “I pick you for the rest of my life.” She had picked it up at a Christian book shop a few weeks earlier and was saving it to give to Pedro when he proposed. She said that despite the fact that she knew she wanted to be his wife, it was Pedro’s responsibility to take the initiative and ask her for her hand.
To celebrate their engagement, they took a pilgrimage to Sanctuaire Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré in Quebec.
Leanor and Pedro’s wedding took place on September 29, 2021, The Feast Day of the Archangels. It was an intimate and beautiful affair. They had a small ceremony, including 25 guests, at Our Lady of All Souls Church in Hamilton, Ontario. It is the only church in their region with a Spanish-speaking community, which was important to both of them.
“The highlight of the wedding was my beautiful wife,” said Pedro, lovingly.
The best part of married life for Pedro and Leanor is sharing their faith, praying together, and having a “friend from the Lord.”
They feel that there is a confidence in their relationship that only God can give them. Although they share many intellectual and human interests, nature, health, and fitness, at the heart of their relationship they are united by faith.
Leanor says, “Our faith unites us and gives us an unbeatable strength and confidence.”
Pedro and Leanor want to be a witness to others and hope that their story will evangelize others by showing the power of Christ in their lives and relationships.
“Nothing can give you that strength, that light, that joy, that only God can give you.”
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