Contact the Pastor at least six (6) months before making arrangements. Congratulations on taking this first step. Please schedule a first step to the altar meeting with the pastor. In that meeting a marriage preparation program will be selected, and a FOCCUS inventory assessment will be arranged. Additionally, fees and scheduling a date for the ceremony will be discussed. The preparation for marriage is ultimately an opportunity to deepen your love and encounter Christ and the Church in a profound way. Holy Matrimony opens us to another level of the richness of God's grace.
Frequently Asked Questions:
What is the difference between a valid and an invalid Catholic marriage?
Just as individual states have certain requirements for civil marriage, the Catholic Church also has requirements before Catholics can be considered validly married in the eyes of the Church. A valid Catholic marriage results from four elements: (1) the spouses are free to marry; (2) they freely exchange their consent; (3) in consenting to marry, they have the intention to marry for life, to be faithful to one another and to be open to children; and (4) their consent is given in the presence of two witnesses and before a properly authorized Church minister.
Why does a Catholic wedding have to take place in a church?
For Catholics, marriage is not just a social or family event, but a church event. For this reason, the Church prefers that marriages between Catholics, or between Catholics and other Christians, be celebrated in the parish church of one of the spouses.
If two Catholics or a Catholic and non-Catholic are married invalidly in the eyes of the church, what should they do about it?
They should approach their pastor to try to resolve the situation.
When a Catholic marries a non-Catholic, must the non-Catholic spouse promise to raise the children in the Catholic Faith?
The non-Catholic spouse does not have to promise to raise the children Catholic. The Catholic spouse must promise to do all that he or she can to have the children baptized and raised in the Catholic faith.
Why does the church require engaged couples to participate in a marriage preparation program?
Marriage preparation offers couples the opportunity to develop a better understanding of Christian marrige, to evaluate and deepen their readiness to live married life, and to gain insights into themselves as individuals and as a couple. It is especially effective in helping couples to deal with the challenges of the early years of marriage. It is marriage preparation, not just wedding preparation.
What can a couple do if their marriage is in trouble?
Parish priests, deacons and other pastoral ministers are available to talk to couples and to refer them to counselors and programs that can assist them. Retrouvaille is an effective program that helps to heal and renew marriages in serious trouble.
What is an annulment?
An annulment is a declaration by a tribunal (Catholic church court) that a marriage thought to be valid according to Church law actually fell short of a least one of the essential elements required for a binding union. A declaration of nullity does not deny that a relationship ever existed between the couple, or that the spouses truly loved one another.
If a marriage is annulled, are the children from it considered illegitimate?
No. A declaration of nullity has no effect on the legitimacy of children, since the child's mother and father were presumed to be married at the time that the child was born.