Congratulations on your decision to get married!
The institution of marriage is a beautiful vocation, the beginning of family life and a great adventure.
The Catholic Church rejoices in your decision to marry and wants to journey with you in your preparations and assist you in growing in your love for each other as well as in your relationship with Christ. Each person is called to prepare as well as possible to live our faith in our marriage and in our lives.
Couples wishing to celebrate the Sacrament of Matrimony should plan to meet with Father Patrick or Father Joy, six months prior to the wedding date, to help you as you begin this process.
Catholic marriage preparation is mandatory for marrying at any parish in the Catholic Archdiocese of Edmonton, and it is strongly recommended that the marriage course be taken at least 4-6 months before the wedding date.
During the marriage preparation process, you will receive:
- Information about what the Church believes and teaches about Catholic marriage and family life.
- Advice and practical assistance for your daily married lives together.
- An introduction to Natural Family Planning, a reliable method of planning your family that is both based on science and in harmony with God’s design for sexual intimacy and Church teaching. Natural Family Planning not only assists with planning or spacing births, but is also extremely effective in working with any infertility issues.
- The witness of married couples to the sacrament of marriage and how it is lived in their lives.
For more information about how to begin planning your wedding, please visit the parish or read Steps to Getting Married.