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Valentine's Day often brings anxiety for singles, and for Catholics, the search for a partner who shares their faith adds an extra layer of difficulty. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 46.4% of American adults were single in 2023, including those divorced, widowed, or never married. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops reported in 2014 that 27.7% of Catholics have never married.
Sara Perla from The Catholic Project at The Catholic University of America expressed concern over the lack of efforts to address this issue. "I really tried to think about it," she said, "but I’m not seeing a lot of effort so far in addressing this issue."
The Catholic Project hosted a panel on Catholic dating at the National Eucharistic Congress in July 2024. Religion News Service noted that attendees described their feelings about dating as "hopeless." An after-event poll showed a desire for more discussion.
Perla emphasized the need for opportunities where people can meet others and criticized some awkward attempts to combine matchmaking with theology. She also suggested that campus ministries and Catholic colleges should actively assist students in finding compatible partners.
Molly Sheahan from the California Catholic Conference agreed that the dating landscape is challenging. She highlighted initiatives like speed dating events as effective ways to connect people face-to-face.
In April 2024, Darenys Radich and Maria Creitz launched Little Dates Club as an alternative to dating apps. Radich shared her personal experience with her son's difficulties in finding dates despite being well-formed and sociable.
Chris O’Neill from the Archdiocese of New Orleans explained their NOLACatholic Healthy Dating initiative aimed at understanding cultural shifts away from traditional dating and marriage.
O'Neill stated, "It became increasingly clear...that the crisis wasn’t simply that people weren’t choosing marriage but weren’t dating or even forming genuine ‘face-to-face’ friendships." The archdiocese plans future efforts such as speed dating events and retreats for young people.
O'Neill concluded by emphasizing relationships: "Your ability to make friends with people will help you know how to build a good relationship with whomever ‘the one’ will be."
Kimberley Heatherington reports for OSV News from Virginia.
