When David Nevarez started a dating site for Spanish-speaking single Catholics, CatolicosSolteros.com, he never imagined how big it would grow. Or how many happy couples it would bring together.
“The site has been the biggest and oldest site of its kind bringing together Catholic singles for nearly 15 years,” he told Aleteia.
Its membership boomed especially after he decided to make the site completely free as of 2023.
“In the past we had some restrictions that included paid memberships, but as of 2023, I made the decision to make the service free to all users,” Nevarez said. “We have doubled our membership in a very short time.”
The site is very popular in Mexico, Colombia, and most of Latin America, as well as among Spanish-speaking single Catholics everywhere.
We had the chance to ask Nevarez a few questions about the site. Here’s what he shared with us.
What inspired you to start CatolicosSolteros.com?
I started the first Catholic singles dating site in English in the late 90s, and I always wanted to bring this to the Spanish-speaking community as well. I came from a background where I had a lot of support for my faith, in school and at home. So after selling the English site that I created, I put my focus on the Spanish speaking world, especially those living in Mexico, Spain and the Latin American region.
Why have you decided to make membership free?
I found that the members who join from Mexico and other Latin American countries found it difficult to afford a membership fee and they should be able to use a site like this, so I made the decision to offer it as a completely free service.
How many members do you have?
I don’t normally quote membership statistics because we cover so many different demographics which can be confusing, but suffice to say we have had over 100,000 members sign up with us over the past few years. And now that it is free, we are seeing the number of new members growing very quickly.
Would you share a favorite story about matches made through the site?
The best example of our success stories can be found here on our site links. One member, Ana, wrote to us letting us know how she appreciated the site bringing Catholics together. And even though they were in different countries she found her future spouse here. I believe they were married just a year or two ago. And also, there was a couple, Amarelys and Samuel, who met here and after five years of dating married as well.
This is what the goal of the site is, ultimately, to bring Catholic single people together and allow them an opportunity to communicate with each other. Some that join are new to the faith, while others are cradle Catholics.
What is the most important thing you would want to share about Catolicos Solteros?
It is a site for you! We keep your values at the forefront of everything we do and offer. Being in the company of other Catholics is a great way to strengthen your faith and potentially put someone who would make a great friend, or spouse, in your path.
