St. Joseph Catholic Church - Neptune at 28172 Nature Avenue, Hinton, IA 51024-8553 US - Marriage Preparation in the Roman Catholic Church

1. All Catholics are required to have their wedding vows take place in the presence of one of the persons’ bishop or one of the persons’ pastor or deacon, and in the presence of two witnesses. For a wedding to take place in the presence of a minister other than the persons’ Catholic bishop, pastor, or deacon, or in a non-Catholic church building proper permission from one of the persons’ bishop is required. 2. The wedding is to take place in the parish where either the Catholic groom or the Catholic bride resides or is a registered member. For a wedding to take place in another parish, the permission of one of the persons’ pastors is required. 3. For a Catholic person to marry a person of a different faith (Christian or non-Christian), proper permission from the Catholic person’s bishop is required. 4. Preparation is to be done in the parish where either the Catholic groom or the Catholic bride resides or is a registered member. For preparation to be done by any other parish, permission of one of the persons’ pastors is required. 5. Preparation is to be done according to the particular law of the Diocese in which one or both persons reside. (i.e. the Diocese of Sioux City requires six-months of preparation before the wedding ceremony that includes meetings with the pastor and Sponsor Couple). This preparation ensures that the couple is free, ready, and able to commit themselves to the holy bonds of Sacred Matrimony. The persons preparing the couple have the right to delay the celebration of the Sacrament of Matrimony until the couple demonstrates readiness and capability that includes proper understanding of the commitment they plan to enter. Time is also needed to allow for the proper permissions to be granted, especially when persons live in another Diocese or another parish and plan to be married in a parish they are not members of. Extra preparation is required for persons: (a) entering a second marriage after the death of the first spouse or declaration of the invalidity of the first marriage by a Church Tribunal, (b) who are cohabitating, and (c) due to other circumstances (i.e. pre-marital pregnancy, marriage attempted in violation of the Church’s teaching of marriage, etc.). 6. If possible, Catholics are to be Confirmed before entering into marriage. 7. For more information, please contact your parish priest. In the Diocese of Sioux City MARRIAGE PREPARATIONS are to begin 6-12 months before the wedding day. Please contact the pastor within this time so that all preparations can be completed in time for the wedding and marriage. Remember, a wedding is just a day, a marriage is a LIFETIME! WEDDINGS AT SUNDAY EUCHARIST are possible just like we celebrate Baptisms, Confirmations, and First Eucharist at Sunday Eucharist. In fact it may be preferable to celebrate weddings at the Sunday Eucharist due to the declining number of priests and to allow more people to attend. Weddings at Sunday Eucharist would be easier to plan and would add not much more time to the Sunday celebration. These celebrations are becoming more common, even in our own Diocese. Such a celebration was celebrated at the Cathedral 11 May 2002 at the Saturday evening Eucharist. Many of the Hispanic, Laotian, and Vietnamese weddings are taking place during the Sunday Eucharist. Weddings at Sunday Eucharist permit more people to celebrate and to be reminded of the significance of the Sacrament of Matrimony. -- MARRIAGE IS FOREVER. Divorce does not end the sacrament of marriage. Divorce only ends the civil legal aspects of marriage. Divorced persons are encouraged to utilize the Eucharist and Reconciliation. Only after an annulment are they free to court and marry.

(Back)