Finding love in the modern age is difficult enough at the best of times. Browse any pub or Tube carriage these days and you’re more likely to see eligible singletons engrossed in their smartphones, rather than alert to romantic opportunity. Add in social distancing and one’s chances of finding a viable partner the old-fashioned way dwindles to near zero. Unsurprisingly, dating apps, the modern solution to this problem, have seen their usage surge throughout the pandemic. Tinder, Hinge and Bumble have seen a double-digit percentage increase in new subscribers compared with pre- Covid-19 levels, as well as significant increases in user-interaction. And though you might think young Catholics would shun such methods and trust in the Good Shepherd to lead them to a spouse, this is not the case. Sign-ups at the US-based Catholic dating site Ave Maria Singles increased about 25 per cent in March and by 20 per cent every month since against a year earlier. Director of communications Mark DeYoung puts the increase down to Covid-19. “So many have turned to online venues to meet new people, and now find themselves with additional time to search for someone via dating apps and websites,” he says. The vanishing art of asking a girl out in the real world is another reason why Catholic apps are surging. “It’s impossible to be asked out by a Catholic guy,” one user tells me. “We’re just waiting to be asked but you’re always friend-zoned, maybe because they’re too shy or holy, or think we’re just looking for a husband. “Maybe if they [men] were made to watch Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella growing up and girls were to watch Pinocchio, they’d be more forward and girls would care less about meeting Prince Charming.” On CatholicMatch, one of the main Catholic dating sites, you’re asked to condense your Catholic beliefs, hobbies, aspirations and traits into a snapshot profile. The process requires filling out an intense questionnaire. How often do you attend Mass? What liturgical style do you prefer? Do you accept the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception? Members can then view a potential date’s depth of faith and adherence to Church teaching before potentially meeting them in person. The website believes this encourages “faith-focused dating” that leads to sacramental marriage and increases people’s ability to find a true match.