GREENWICH VILLAGE — Is Patty Montagno a real-life version of Dolly Gallagher Levi? It’s too soon to tell, but Montagno could give the lead character in the legendary Broadway musical “Hello Dolly!” a run for her money when it comes to matchmaking.
Montagno, a Catholic who grew up in Greenwich Village and now lives in Winter Park, Florida, has always enjoyed playing matchmaker for her friends and has introduced many men and women who wound up happily married.
Out of her desire to help people find true love, she founded a company called Cana Connections, which is a dating site with a decidedly Catholic identity. The site, canaconnections.com, went live in April.
From its name — inspired by the Scripture passage about the wedding in Cana where Jesus performs the miracle of turning water into wine — to its stated goal of bringing couples together on a spiritual journey, Cana Connections is out to prove that it isn’t just another dating site, Montagno said.
Montagno, 45, doesn’t match couples based only on their personal preferences, but rather, she encourages people to look deeper in their search for a mate.
“If it’s a surface level, that’s not what this company’s about,” she explained. “There’s plenty of other companies. … This one is different. This one is to fulfill God’s vision of marriage, and it’s very, very different than the others.”
Marriage isn’t about what one gets out of it, but about what one gives, which clients must understand when they sign up for Cana Connections, she noted.
To help find a potential match, a prospective client fills out a profile form and answers 50 questions, composed by Montagno, about themselves and submits a photo.
The submission process is free.
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The questionnaire is not one you would find on a typical dating site.
“There are some typical questions about your age, and location, and basics, because that’s important,” Montagno said. “But it goes a lot deeper, in terms of how they view marriage and what marriage as a vocation means to them.”
Montagno carefully studies the profiles, and if she gets a sense that two people are well suited, she offers to introduce them. The fee for that is $150.
In the interest of safety, Montagno conducts criminal background checks on all applicants and conducts one-on-one teleconferences with each person before introducing them to their potential mate.
Montagno said that given her track record, it’s only a matter of time before couples who have met on her site exchange “I do’s.”
Michelle and Rob Landon, who were introduced by Montango, have been married for 12 years and have two children. “Patty brought us both together, and it has been wonderful ever since,” Michelle said.
“She just has such a beautiful heart, and she really is quite exceptional at being a matchmaker,” she added. “With us, I think she sensed that we would not only be a good fit because we liked the same things, but she knew that we both had the same goals in terms of a family life.”
While running Cana Connections, Montagno still maintains a career in marketing.
She is proud of her Catholic roots. She attended Our Lady of Pompeii School in Greenwich Village and Dominican Academy on the Upper East Side. She holds a bachelor’s degree in advertising from the University of Florida and a master’s degree in marketing from Fordham University.
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Montagno admitted that she has taken such a strong interest in marriage because, so far in her life, it has eluded her.
However, she said she believes that her unmarried status allows her to better serve clients because of the empathy she has for them.
“I know firsthand how much it hurts when you desire for love and marriage and you wonder why God places that desire in your heart if it remains unfulfilled,” Montagno said. “I’m truly living it, and I think that gives me a unique sense of empathy.
“What I realized along this journey is that sometimes God places these desires in our hearts to call us to do something bigger than ourselves.”