Ryan and Jessica McGinty, newlyweds now living in Franklin, Massachusetts, recently learned that their love story didn't start when they met as adults — it started in a baptismal font, when they were babies. A pastoral associate digging through old registry books at their church found that the two had been baptized together on the same February day, decades before either of them had any idea the other existed.
A Discovery Buried in the Church's Old Records
The connection surfaced while the couple was in the thick of wedding planning, according to CBS News. Michelle Gallo, a pastoral associate, found the shared baptism date while paging through registry books at St. Timothy Catholic Church in Norwood, the parish Ryan and Jessica had belonged to for years. Gallo described the discovery of the couple's four shared sacramental milestones — baptism, First Communion, confirmation, and now marriage — as something special.
Jessica said their mothers remembered the baptism had happened on a day in February and that it was freezing cold outside, though the exact date wasn't part of what the station reported. What neither family had realized was that their children were baptized together, then went on to receive First Communion and confirmation together as well, all before Ryan and Jessica ever knew each other's names.
Neighbors for Years, Strangers Until Adulthood
Ryan and Jessica grew up in the neighboring towns of Westwood and Walpole, close enough that their shared parish made sense but their paths still never crossed as kids. Jessica said they lived seven minutes from each other their entire lives without knowing one another. It wasn't until Jessica Connolly, as she was known then, visited friends on Ryan's college campus that the two actually met — and the station's report notes Ryan felt it was love at first sight.
Jessica said Ryan told her, early on, that they would end up married — a prediction made the very day they met. The couple went on to marry after learning just how far back their ties to each other and to St. Timothy really went.
Still Rooted in the Same Norwood Parish
Ryan said his father serves as a lector at St. Timothy, and that he and Jessica still attend the church themselves, keeping the family's connection to the Norwood parish alive even after their wedding. The pair told the outlet they value their supportive families, their parish community, and a foundation of mutual respect and admiration as they start married life together.
Jessica said she feels Ryan's love even on the days she comes home from work in a bad mood, and Ryan said people who know Jessica would struggle to find anyone with a bad thing to say about her. The couple's wedding website, hosted on Zola, and Jessica's Instagram account document more of their life together as newlyweds settling into Franklin.
