 In the summer of 1998, two regular guys met at a St. Boniface Catholic Church picnic in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Little did either know that as they struck up a conversation over potato salad, it would change the course of their lives, and ultimately thousands of others' lives, forever. But that is exactly what happened when Brian Barcaro first met Jason LaFosse. The two immediately became friends and began work on a website called St.Raphael.net, which launched a little over a year later in June of 1999. Both felt strongly that the singles website should cultivate marriage, with a key component focusing on providing a vibrant, moral community environment. That was in stark contrast to other singles websites at the time, and is still the philosophy that is adhered to today.
The two took their dream and teamed up with Mike Lloyd, who at the time was a successful programmer (and Jason's boss) at a global tech company. Together, the three felt that they would carve a serious niche in the expanding online world by working on their fledgling web design company full-time. Despite early success, their young company was hit hard by the dot com bubble burst. It was at that time, when things were looking dire, that St.Raphael.net, the little "hobby" website with about 2000 free users, provided the spark they needed. At the strong urging of Jason, Brian and Mike agreed to move most of their energy (and what little resources they had left) to relaunch and grow St.Raphael.net as a pay-site. That decision payed off, and with hard work and dedication, they began to quickly out-perform competitor sites which had several year's head starts on them.
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It was in 2003 that the decision was made to change the name to CatholicMatch.com, which aided in marketing the site, and cast the net even further out into the singles' sea. The trio understood they were serving a "niche" market, but they wouldn't settle for inferior technology or a "niche" looking site. That steadfastness has resulted in provided a pleasing, easy to use interface with certainly a more faith-filled experience than the secular “one-size-fits-all" sites.
By 2005, CatholicMatch.com had surpassed all others to become the clear-cut, number one online service for single Catholics. By staying connected and listening to the user's desires, the team has remained committed to providing an environment for community and friendship. An example of this is seen in the Event Planning section that gives members the ability to organize and meet off-line, the result of which are known as “CM Get Togethers.” These happenings have grown increasingly popular, to the point that such member initiated events have been hosted in or around most major U.S. cities, as well as internationally.
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From its beginnings to now, CatholicMatch.com helps users to more easily form a relationship based on a commonality in faith, which God willing, can ultimately lead to a fulfilling marriage. By utilizing tools like the Catholic Match exclusive temperament test that is rooted in both natural law and gospel values (instead of scientific fact or new age philosophy), members are provided the opportunity for self-evaluation, in addition to more deeply learning about a potential spouse. Rather than placing someone in a static personality box, this test allows users to understand the temperament God gave them and their future spouse, while leaving room for sacramental grace to impact both behavior and spiritual maturity.
CatholicMatch.com is wholly owned by Catholic Match, LLC, but is managed through the operations of Acolyte, LLC, a web development and management company.
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