Archbishop's Blessing for online Catholic dating service
The safe place for Catholics to meet Catholics is no longer just in church.

AUCKLAND, NZ, Aug. 24, 2007 (www.stuff.co.nz/)  -  A website called Catholic Matcher New Zealand, is being launched on September 29 to help single Catholics looking for someone to share their faith and values.

The site has a patron saint – St Raphael, the patron of Catholic singles and of happy meetings – and has been blessed by Archbishop John Dew of Wellington.

"I'm happy to approve this website initiative. My hope is that it will be an opportunity for Catholics to meet one another, to share faith, to know what commitment in marriage means, what Catholic marriage entails and to be able to make the life-long commitment of marriage."

The website is the work of Clare and Glen Omvig, a Paraparaumu-based couple who met on the internet eight years ago.

They started the website because they were a very early internet romance success story.

"This is a forward step for the Catholic Church in recognising that Catholic singles need more avenues to meet people than just their local parish in New Zealand.

"The internet has opened up the entire country for the opportunity to find that special person," Archbishop Dew said.

The website includes video and audio, chat, as well as instant messaging, internal email.

There will be mentoring, advice and prayer available.