MEDFORD -- The Msgr. William B. Foley Parish Center of St. Francis of Assisi Church was the place to be for romance on the night of Oct. 25.

The walls of the dimly lit hall were decorated with fairy lights. LED candles flickered on tables covered with white linens and floral bouquets. A disco ball spun slowly overhead. It was the third speed dating night for the young adult ministry of Mary Queen of Peace Parish, which encompasses St. Francis and St. Joseph Church in Medford. Almost 80 young adults ages 21 to 35 from all over the archdiocese sat down for a series of three-minute micro-dates. The end of each date was signaled by a volunteer ringing a bell. The men then took the seat to their right. The women stayed seated, hosting a revolving door of dates. They then received a survey, which would be used to determine who they matched best with. A statue of St. Joseph watched over it all.

"We are living in a unique time in human history where life has been digitized, and young people are really rebelling against that," said Jamie Ryan, community outreach coordinator for Mary Queen of Peace's Young Adult Group.

The speed dating ministry began in 2024, after Emily Jones, a second-grade teacher at St. Joseph School in Medford, was inspired by a similar event in Cambridge. During her three-minute dates, she likes to "get the niceties out of the way" and "get some humor in there."

"It's really hard to meet people organically," she said, "and this is a way that you can know for a fact that these are people that at least share some semblance of the values that you have in a place that is real and honestly good."

Ryan said that speed dating is where young people can build relationships atop a "solid foundation of Christ."

"I think general wisdom is that dating leads to marriage, and a good marriage is built on shared values," she said.

Sophia Demarkis, an events coordinator for the Young Adult Group, is hoping to find someone she can "build a friendship with."

"On top of that, someone I get along with and that I share the same Catholic values with, that I can really build a life with inside of our parish," she said.

Besides their faith, the young adults at speed dating have little in common.

"It's nice to have everybody have the opportunity to meet a bunch of different people from all over the world with different hearts, different life goals, and see what happens," Ryan said.

She added: "Everybody's got a different story, and we've got to have an open mind and get to know each other."

Father Tim Hynes, pastor of Mary Queen of Peace, said that the parish's young adult community has "exploded" in the past year.

"I think there are a lot more young adults who are coming into the faith," he said.

Speed dating is one of many young adult apostolates in the parish. There are also the monthly plenary meetings, Ladies' Nights, and Men's Nights, and weekly Bible study. So many marriages have come out of the Young Adult Group that there are plans for a Young Married Couples apostolate. So far, speed dating has resulted in two marriages, one engagement, and one steady relationship.

"We look forward to learning about the ones that come out of this one," Ryan said.