A Long-Distance Love Story
While honeymooning in Ireland, Cora and Logan Potvin took a Sound of Music-inspired excursion to Austria. It was the first movie they had watched together, Cora explains. It also holds a special place in her heart as her late Grandpa’s favorite movie. “We did our own research and drove there with our little rental car. We went places we shouldn’t have gone because I can’t read German,” Logan remembers. “But I would do it again in a heartbeat.” That spontaneous road trip, filled with laughter and misread German signs, beautifully captures the essence of their love story: rooted in faith, enriched by family, and built on a trust in God’s design for their lives.
The couple’s unique honeymoon mirrors their dating story, which started when Cora and her twin sister signed up for CatholicMatch. Her sister met her husband within days. Cora’s journey wasn’t much longer; it was only a few months before she met Logan.
Logan’s Journey
Logan was in RCIA at the time, in the midst of a religious conversion inspired by his brother. “It was interesting to see him convert because he was more of a ‘Saint Paul.’ He he hadn’t been a fan of the Church in any way,” he recalls. This piqued Logan’s interest enough that he began questioning his own lifestyle and attending Mass.
“For the next year and a half, I was keeping Catholicism at an arm’s distance, like, ‘it’s great and the teachings make sense, but I don’t want to do it because I want to keep living my life of sin because it’s comfortable,’” Logan reflects. “It came to a head when I was like, ‘If it’s true, I need to do it for the sake of my soul.’”
Joining RCIA and delving into Church tradition filled a void for Logan. “The beauty of the faith is there are so many mysteries to contemplate, however deep you want to go,” he says.
Art, Faith & NFP
While Cora lived in Ontario and Logan lived a 10-hour drive away in Vermont, they quickly bonded over art and faith. They only met in person four times before Logan’s proposal. During their engagement, they took Couple to Couple League’s NFP course and found that learning from another couple truly brought the facts to life. “I had a little knowledge going into it,” says Cora. “But after, I felt like I could put it into practice. The course really simplified it and the Peak Day App was helpful.”
“From a guy’s perspective, you’re learning a lot about the anatomy of women that you didn’t learn,” Logan adds. “To see God’s design mesh up with Church teaching so perfectly helps you grow in appreciation for your fiancée.” Their NFP class would prove instrumental for navigating a busy first year of marriage. Logan switched jobs that first year and remembers a “giving up control moment” while discerning openness to life while job-hunting. In a good charting and prayer routine, they felt prepared to trust God’s timing. “It worked out. The day after I got a job offer is the day we found out Cora was pregnant,” he remembers. Their love story began a new chapter.
Worth It
Today, the family of three lives just steps away from Cora’s twin sister and her husband, who moved to the same townhome complex. Thinking back to how they all met, Logan remembers the challenges of online dating, so worth it now: “I was about done with CatholicMatch and then Cora came along and I’m like, ‘You know what? If we’re going to get married, we’re going to get married. It’ll be worth a 10-hour drive in the grand scheme of things.’ It was, very much so.”
From long-distance courtship to new parenthood, Cora and Logan’s story is a testament to trust in each other and in God’s timing. For those still discerning their own path, their story is a hopeful reminder: when love is rooted in faith, even the most unlikely roads can lead exactly where you’re meant to be.
Written for Family Foundations magazine by Savanna Duca.