Marriage

Are you getting married?

Did you know that Catholics should contact their Catholic parish priest before getting married, even if they plan a civil wedding, a wedding in another church or a wedding abroad? This also applies if your future spouse is not Catholic or does not want a Catholic wedding.

The Church wants to help you prepare for marriage and to make sure that the marriage is validly contracted according to the Church's order. In some cases a dispensation can be granted so that you can marry in a civil ceremony.

Everyone who wishes to marry in the Catholic Church must take a preparation course. In St. Barbara Parish we offer a marriage course for those who wish to marry. The marriage preparation course is compulsory for everyone marrying in the Catholic Church. The teaching is arranged with the priest.

Are you already married in a civil ceremony without having been in contact with the Church?

You too are welcome to contact the parish priest for a confidential conversation about how your marriage can be validly recognised by the Church. If you are married in a civil ceremony and would like your marriage to become a sacrament, you must present a civil marriage certificate.

Before the wedding

In a marriage between a Catholic and someone who is not Catholic, the Church wants to make sure that the Catholic party is free to live their faith and to bring up any children as Catholic Christians. Before the marriage is contracted, the Catholic declares that he or she will do his or her best to share the faith with the children. The non-Catholic party declares that he or she has been made aware of this promise and respects it.

The bride and groom must declare to the priest:

• that they are marrying each other freely and without coercion
• that they intend to stay married to each other for life
• that they will accept children – if God gives them any – and bring them up in the spirit of Christ.

During the wedding they repeat this declaration before making their vows of fidelity to each other.

A dispensation must be obtained:

• from the parish priest, to marry a baptised Christian who is not Catholic (mixta religionis)
• from the bishop through the priest, to marry someone who is not baptised (disparitas cultus)
• from the bishop through the priest, to marry in the presence of someone other than a Catholic priest or deacon, for example a Lutheran pastor (forma canonica).