We Finally Found Someone Who Loved the Church Too
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It was a difficult beginning.
Lucy was five months pregnant when she and her second husband separated. After that, she told herself she’d remain single because she didn’t want to expose her children to different men or potential abuse.
Living in Salt Lake City, she saw an ad for CatholicMatch in her church bulletin. Despite her misgivings, she decided to give it a shot. “But there was never anyone who lived close to me,” she said. She let her subscription lapse. Since her children’s father was not involved in their lives, she moved a few hours south to St. George, Utah, to live with her parents.
Two years later, Lucy and her children moved back to Salt Lake City.
“After a year of being back, I decided I’d been single for eight years and thought it was time that I started to date again,” she said.
It was 2015. Unsure how to meet people, she gave CatholicMatch another try. She’d heard horror stories about dishonest people on dating sites, and wanted someone who shared her Catholic faith. “I decided I trusted CatholicMatch over any other dating sites,” Lucy said.
Soon, she met a man named Fred. They started communicating via the website and texts.
“But he refused to meet in person or give me any information,” Lucy said.
“He eventually quit communicating with me altogether.”
Lucy kept looking at other profiles. That’s when she found Michael, who lived in another area of Salt Lake City. Lucy liked his boyish face and the fact that he showed photos of his children and went to weekly Mass.
Like Lucy, Michael saw an ad for CatholicMatch in his church bulletin. He had two children, and was tired of relationships that hadn’t worked out. Lucy waited until she received the message that Michael had viewed her profile before she messaged him, inviting him to chat.
A month later, Michael responded, after getting a discount that allowed him to access messages. He was excited about communicating with Lucy, but there was one concern; on her profile, Lucy noted that she spoke Italian. “He thought that was my only language,” she said.
Fortunately, they both spoke English, and started messaging each other daily. “After what happened with Fred, I did not have the courage to ask Michael to exchange phone numbers,” Lucy shared.
Since neither of their previous marriages was in the Catholic Church, Lucy said the annulment process moved fairly quickly for both of them.
“We just had to submit a few documents. It was pretty easy.”
After several months, Michael got the courage to ask for Lucy’s number so they could talk on the phone.
They enjoyed chatting, but both were nervous about meeting in person.
Lucy was busy working at her brother’s Italian restaurant, going to school, raising her children, and volunteering with CCD class at her church on Sundays. Michael was busy working two jobs, being a single parent, and serving as an usher at his church. It was hard to find time to meet.
On the night of July 2, 2015, Lucy had to drive near Michael’s side of the city, so she texted to ask if she could meet him in person. “He said it was okay for me to meet him at his work,” she said. “We were both nervous.” Bringing her children along, Lucy showed up with pasta and dessert. Michael bought her flowers.
A few days later, Lucy and her kids drove to meet her niece for a 4th of July celebration.
On the way back the next day, she stopped to see Michael again after his work shift ended. He brought his children to meet them.
“We decided that we would take my dogs and all four kids on a hike in a canyon by my house,” Lucy said. After the hike, they all had dinner at Cafe Rio restaurant and enjoyed watching fireworks with the kids.
After that evening, they officially started dating, and started attending weekly Mass together.
“Michael's family thought we were going too fast,” Lucy said, which caused some friction with everyone. Then more heartache hit. “We lost a baby at 21 weeks along,” Lucy said.
They married on July 9, 2017.
“We both always wanted to get married in the Church and we finally found someone that wanted to,” Lucy said. “As I walked down the aisle, I remember Michael crying.” As a new family, they lit a candle for the baby girl they lost.
Since being married, Lucy confessed they’ve fought occasionally about their families, paying bills, and wanting more for their children. But they also enjoy supporting each other’s future career dreams and attending Mass together. “We still go to two different churches, but we attend together,” she said. Whenever they travel, they also enjoying seeing new churches.