Congratulations on your engagement! The Church rejoices with you and is eager to guide you into the Sacrament of Matrimony. When a man and a woman are married in the Church, they receive the grace needed for a lifelong bond of unity. “So, they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, let no one separate.” Matthew 19:6

"...the Lord God said, 'It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him...," (Gen 2:18) "male and female He created them" (Gen 21:27b).  God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply," revealing that the nature of this union between man and woman is always to include openness to life, so that should God wish to bless them with children, they ought to receive them in accord with His will.

Contact the parish a minimum of 4 months and preferably 6 months before your desired wedding day and before you have your reception booked. This lead time provides sufficient time for all the necessary paperwork to be completed, for the you to take the required instructional classes on the nature and meaning of marriage, and after that time for you to complete the final discernment process to assure this is truly God's call to and will for both of you. If you are ready please follow this link to apply.

Catholic Church law ordinarily requires baptized Catholics to marry before a Priest or Deacon in a Church. Unless they received a “dispensation from canonical form,” Catholics who exchange vows in the presence of ministers from other religious traditions or civil officials are not considered validly married in the eyes of the Catholic Church. This impacts their ability to receive the sacraments. A convalidation remedies those impediments.

There are very powerful benefits to getting married in the Church.

First, this allows couples to put themselves right with God and the Church. This should give peace of mind, joy, and the confidence that comes from doing God’s will.

Second, sacramental marriages bring many benefits: a bond between the two spouses created by God Himself, so strong that only death can dissolve it; each of the spouses becomes in a special way the pathway to heaven for his or her spouse and an icon (“picture”) of Jesus Christ for each other; and their marriages will be redemptive, meaning that your joys and sorrows as a married couple will share in the saving work of Jesus.

Third, getting married in the Church allows Catholics who had been living in invalid marriages to participate fully in the sacramental life of the Church. All people are welcome to attend Mass. But receiving Holy Communion is for those who are fully participating in the life of the Church (free from mortal sin and committed to faithfully living as a disciple of Christ). Receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation (confession) and becoming validly married prepares spouses to return to receiving Our Lord Jesus in Holy Communion.

If you are ready to fill out a Convalidation Application and find out more click the button below.

The Catholic Church views all true marriages with respect. It presumes that they are valid. Thus, it considers the marriage of two Protestant, Jewish or even non-believing persons, any of whom marry according to their own tradition, to be binding for life in the eyes of God. Consequently, a tribunal process is required to establish that an essential ingredient in the relationship was missing in that previous union that prevented it from being a valid marriage.

“We [Bishops] encourage divorced persons who wish to marry in the Catholic Church to seek counsel about the options that exist to remedy their situation, including the suitability of a declaration of nullity when there is no longer any hope of reconciliation of the spouses." - USCCB, Marriage: Love and Life in the Divine Plan, 2009

Looking for a like-minded Catholic couples? Are you searching for community of couples to encourage you to grow deeper into relationship with Christ?
Our Couples & Christ group meets on the 2nd Friday of every month at 7pm in D'Arco Hall.