It all started on a secular dating site in the pre-pandemic past of 2018. It was called Badoo. Why was it called that? What the heck is a Badoo anyway? Neither of them knew why, and they still don't today, but that's where they met. Liam was a part time janitor at Bishop Mussio Elementary School, and Therese was a housekeeper at the Apostolate for Family Consecration. The week after Thanksgiving was the date they would finally meet in person. After a nice dinner at Bennigans (Which is now known as the Harp and Habit) they ceased talking.

It was quite abrupt, as you may imagine. That's where most online dating stories end, but as it's written in Matthew 19:26, "...with God, all things are possible." (Jesus didn't quite mean it that way, but you get the picture) They met up again the following year, and once more an attempt to get to know each other fizzled out. There must have been some progress, as they kept in touch on and off, exchanging greetings and small talk throughout the years, even during the infamous pandemic, though the conversations were not as frequent during those times.

Then 2023 happened.

One summer day, Liam was messaged by Therese with a simple request, "Can you take me to a Holy Family Fest at Catholic Familyland?" Liam had been to Catholic Familyland, officially known as the Apostolate for Family Consecration a number of times for a retreat they held there, and after a bit of thinking, Liam gave the most foolish answer possible, "Maybe, at some point."

Well that wasn't going to sit with Therese. Soon however, in the month of June, Liam was approached once more.

"Are you going to take me to Catholic Familyland?"

This time, the answer was, "Yes!"

It was supposed to be a Saturday outing at the Apostolate, but that soon turned into a whole weekend. Both Liam and Therese spent the weekend meeting with families, catching up with old friends, and praying. As the days at the Apostolate went on, feelings grew between the both of them, to the point that a question was put between them.

"Is this the one whom I was looking for?"

It took a few days for the question to stew, but the answer became clear to them that it was, "YES." For Liam, he wasn't sure at first, but it really began to dawn on him when he noticed that Therese would always inform him of her whereabouts, even when he didn't ask.

They started dating on July 8th, leading to many walks at the Panhandle Trail in Weirton, the Apostolate in Bloomingdale, and Bellview Park in Steubenville. Liam was more than happy to take Therese to Mass, and to sit in silence in Adoration. Several times people would ask if they were already engaged because of how close they were.

In September, Liam had purchased a small, fixer upper home in Steubenville, the only eyesore being the bright Barbie Pink room that Therese was more than happy to paint over. Hours would be spent deliberating on what to do in parts of what would become their forever home.

Soon October 27th arrived. It was the Laborers in the Vineyard Retreat at the Apostolate, and they were more than happy to go. At the end, they were packed and ready to depart.

"Goodbye, Holy Family Prayer site!", Therese said.

"Goodbye? Who said anything about goodbye?", was Liam's response.

He stopped and parked at the small pad at the top of the hill, and the two walked in the rain over to the statue of the Holy Family that stood tall over the Apostolate campus. There, after struggling to get the larger than normal ringbox out from his jacket pocket, Liam finally knelt and popped the big question.

"Will you marry me?", he asked.

"YES!", she answered.

There, the plans for the wedding began, and that's where they are now, awaiting the big day patiently...

...and not screaming at the top of their lungs, "WHEN WILL IT BE JUNE?!?"