Logging on for love.

I met my husband the old-fashioned way--in person.

It was 1999, and we met at a new-student mixer at our campus Newman Center. A few days before, while my family was helping me move into my dorm, my mom noticed the small Catholic church conveniently located a few doors down from my residence hall. I could almost see the wheels turning in her head; she always encouraged me to find a nice Catholic boy at church and marry him in a nice Catholic ceremony. My vicinity to a parish, apparently, was a step in the right direction.

So here I was, making small talk with a cute stranger next to a painting of St. Thomas Aquinas. Little did I know then that we would wed three years later. Turns out this nice Catholic boy's parents had a similar plan for their son. Honor thy father and mother indeed.

Back then, online dating sites were still experiencing growing pains. Meeting someone on the Internet was considered edgy, seedy, and maybe a little desperate.

What a difference a few years make. Online dating, with 8,000 websites and counting, is now a billion-dollar-a-year industry. Many of the taboos have been erased, and thousands of couples are marrying every year. Just ask the folks at the popular sites Match. com and eHarmony.com.

We at U.S. CATHOLIC decided for our second special issue on young adults to put our own spin on this intriguing phenomenon. Christina Capecchi writes in "Must love God" (pages 24-29) that many Catholic singles are logging on to Internet dating sites that cater to their specific religious beliefs. Want a woman who has the same zeal for the Tridentine Mass as you? Check out AveMariaSingles.com. Seeking a spouse who shares your belief in the Immaculate Conception? Then CatholicMatch.com is for you. There's also CatholicDaters. corn, CatholicSingles.com, and CatholicMingle.com. The testimonials on these sites are inspiring.

Not sold on the Internet? Volunteer! U.S. CATHOLIC Assistant Editor Megan Sweas writes in "Marked for life" (pages 12-17) that young adult Catholics can also find their mates during their year of full-time volunteer service. It's a perfect set-up: working and living in close quarters with people who all share similar values. Even if volunteers don't find love, they will at least make lasting friendships.

In 2007 Catholics seeking Catholics don't have to rely on the matchmaking skills of Father Fred or the intercession of St. Ann ("send me a man as fast as you can"). There are more options out there for finding your one-and-only. And all it may take is an Internet connection to make a love connection.

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