A trustworthy matchmaker is worth his weight in gold. Singles in Spain may have found the man who will put an end to their struggles in securing a long-term partner.
Fernando Cuevas, a priest from Valencia, Spain, has been nicknamed the “Tinder Priest” because he’s gotten 270 couples hitched so far. It’s a successful record with hundreds of couples still married and no divorces in sight.
Cuevas’s kicked off his matchmaking services 14 years ago when he was walking with a Catholic-practicing man named Salva. While they were together, a group of women walked toward them and chatted with the priest. Salva was interested in the ladies who did share his Catholic faith and he asked the priest to set him up with one of the women. Five months later, Salva married one of the women, Geles, and that introduction paved the way for the priest’s fulfilling career.
It is a real struggle to find practicing Catholics in other dating prospects and Cuevas plays matchmaker to address the scarce matches available. “People who are very committed to their faith look for someone who is the same,” Cuevas said.
“It is not something secondary that has no importance, it is something fundamental. But the society is very secularized and people have tremendous religious ignorance and lack of interest. They have no interest in the things of God because they have not been brought up that way. Those who do want to live their faith attach great importance to it and want to find someone like that.”
He takes his job seriously since people’s future are in his hands. There’s a checklist that the priest requests people to fill out in order to find someone compatible. It includes details such as “name, surname, age, year of birth, height, studies, current job, hobbies, virtues, shortcomings, things you’re looking for in a partner, and degree of commitment to the Church.”
Out of all those requirements, the Tinder Priest believes two of the factors are the most important: height and place of residence. Women want taller partners who live near them since long-distance relationships are difficult to manage.
Once the priest sees a pair who may be a good match, he sends each person the other’s information and pictures. If they both want to move forward, he gives the man the woman’s number so they can contact each other and get a date set up.
The Tinder Priest doesn’t guarantee a lifetime of happiness since his job ends with an introduction. The hope is that they do last the test of time since there is a promising shared foundation to build a healthy relationship. He believes his matches are successful because the couples are spiritual people and they operate from a mindset of selfless service.