From heartache to hope: One woman’s mission to match Catholics for marriage

CNA Staff, Jun 22, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

At 45 years old, Patty Montagno thought she would be married and have children by now, but her journey of learning “how to trust God throughout this process” has led to the founding of a new Catholic matchmaking service called Cana Connections. 

Inspired by the Gospel story of the wedding feast at Cana and grounded in the Dominican principle of “veritas,” or truth, the ministry “embraces God’s vision for marriage as a sacred covenant” and offers a “purposeful and prayerful” matchmaking process, Montagno said.

The native of Manhattan in New York City has always considered herself gifted at connecting people, and not just romantically. She told CNA she has moved a lot during her life and everywhere she has gone she’s been able to form communities. When she heard a homily from popular priest and podcaster Father Mike Schmitz in which he talked about pursuing a job that you’re excellent at not for your sake but for the sake of others, she took it as a sign.

“That homily helped me get over my fear of doing something — even though I haven’t been successful in love in my own journey, that doesn’t mean that I can’t help other people,” she shared.

Montagno described Cana Connections as “more old-school, traditional matchmaking.”

Users first create a free member profile, which includes answering 50 questions that are designed to help Montagno get a deeper understanding of the individual’s background, preferences, values, faith journey, and hopes for the future. 

“I leave these questions purposely open-ended because it gives the person the ability to really tell their story and it gives me a better sense of who they are and what they’re looking for,” she explained. 

Once Montagno identifies a potential match, she reaches out to both individuals to let them know and shares a summary of the other person’s profile and their photo. If they agree to meet each other, Montagno facilitates the exchange of information. She also pointed out that a criminal background check is performed on each individual, and she conducts a virtual screening to make sure the people are who they say they are.

Montagno shared that as she has gone through profiles that she has received, it makes her “teary-eyed” because she can “hear the longing and the pain, but I can also see the beautiful desire for this sacred love.”

“And that gives me so much hope — that there are people out there who value love in the way that God intended it. That exists. And I’m seeing it from a different lens now,” she added.

For anyone still waiting to find their significant other, Montagno pointed out that this time of waiting is “a great opportunity to focus on deepening your relationship with God — whether that’s reading Scripture or however that works for you.”

When asked what her hopes are for Cana Connections, she shared that it is to be “that instrument in helping Catholics find a spouse who’s going to help them grow in holiness and it’s going to be a relationship in which they’re going to journey towards heaven together and become the people that God created them to be.” 

“And that’s our mission,” she said. “And my vision is that we’ll transform the world through these holy families, ensuring that God’s truth and love continue to shape future generations.”

“I’m really excited to see how God uses both my gifts and my pain for a purpose that’s greater than myself.”

Source: https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/264907/from-heartache-to-hope-one-woman-s-mission-to-match-catholics-for-marriage