Someone will contact you to set up a 1st meeting with the priest – He will provide all the requirements necessary.
Please note that the sacramental marriage requires at least six (6) months of preparation. NO arrangements should be made until you have received confirmation from the priest.
Catholic marriage is a vocation and a sacrament of service. Marriage is different to most of the Sacraments which are conferred by a priest, or bishop. The man and woman confer the Sacrament of Marriage upon each other when they express their consent to marry before God and the Church.
The Sacrament of Marriage is a covenant, which is more than a contract. Covenant always expresses a relationship between persons. The marriage covenant refers to the relationship between the husband and wife, a permanent union of persons capable of knowing and loving each other and God.
In a sacramental marriage, God's love becomes present to the spouses in their total union and also flows through them to their family and community. By their permanent, faithful and exclusive giving to each other, the couple reveals something of God's unconditional love.
As a Sacrament Marriage is part of the Church’s liturgy. Jesus taught that marriage is indissoluble. The Sacrament of Marriage is a lasting commitment of a man and a woman to a lifelong partnership, established for the good of each other and the procreation of their children.
Therefore, what God has joined together, no human being must separate” (Matthew 19:6). Through the sacrament of Matrimony, the Church teaches that Jesus gives the strength and grace to live the real meaning of marriage. In the writings of St Paul: “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ loved the church and handed himself over for her to sanctify her” (Ephesians 5:25–26).
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 be open to children
4. Their consent is given in the canonical form, i.e., in the presence of two witnesses and before a properly authorized church minister.
Someone will contact you to set up a 1st meeting with the priest – He will provide all the requirements necessary.
Please note that the sacramental marriage requires at least six (6) months of preparation. NO arrangements should be made until you have received confirmation from the priest.
The wedding date will be selected depending on the availability of the Church. It is then that you may proceed to make all the necessary arrangements upon approval of the priest.
Please note that this is assuming that there have not been previous marriages (neither in the Church nor civilly). If you or your fiancé has been married previously (in the Church or civilly) we must determine the freedom to marry during the initial interview.
Also note that St. Agnes parishioners are given priority on dates.
All correspondence and dialogue will be directly with the couple to be married NOT WITH FAMILY MEMBERS OR FRIENDS.
If you have a wedding at another Church and would like for one of our priest to be the witness, all travel expenses must be covered (For example, gas, mileage, airfare, hotel, etc).
Likewise, Priests not assigned to St. Agnes must be compensated directly and previously approved by the Pastor and the Diocese.
