Marriage Preparation

Congratulations on your engagement. We would like to give you a brief overview of the marriage preparation process at St. Catherine’s. This process is required for engaged couples who wish to be married at St. Catherine’s and for couples who have married in a civil ceremony and wish to have their marriage convalidated in the Catholic Church.

Initial Meeting

Congratulations on your engagement. Please contact the parish office at the beginning of you engagement to set up an initial meeting with Fr. Glenn, our pastor, or another member of the St. Catherine’s clergy and staff. During the meeting, we will discuss with you two:

  • Overview of the Church Marriage Preparation Program

  • Parish General Guidelines

  • Review of the required documents and any additional ones;

  • Tentative wedding date proposed by the couple and the pastor or his delegate. The proposed date can be considered but not officially placed on the church calendar at this time, so please consider this when making other arranagements for your wedding.

At the end of this meeting, a second meeting is scheduled and agreed upon before the first meeting is adjourned. This should occur within 1 month.

 

Assessment Process

During the assessment process, the pastor or another or another person from the parish clergy and staff will help you assess your readiness for marriage. After the initial meeting, we will ask you to fill out one of these assessment tools approved by the Diocese of Sacramento:

 

Special Circumstances

The engage couple should notify the pastor or his delegate of any of the following circumstances during the initial meeting so that we can help you through the marriage preparation process:

  • If one or both are under the age of twenty (20);

  • If there is a pregnancy involved;

  • If they are presently cohabiting (living together);

  • If one of the engaged is not Catholic;

  • If one or both have been married before in any type of ceremony or common law union;

  • If they are now civilly married and wish to have their marriage convalidated in the Catholic Church.

  • If one or both have not received the Sacraments of First Holy Communion and/or Confirmation.

The Church requires Catholics to be married by a properly designated priest or deacon and at least 2 witnesses. A Catholic who marries outside the Church without prior dispensation from this canonical form, marries “invalidly” meaning, that the Church does not recognize the marriage, even if the marriage is recognized by civil authorities.

Some of these special circumstances above may require special steps to assist the you in preparing for marriage in the Catholic Church, so please do not hesistate to bring these up. We are happy to assist you in the process, so please be honest with Fr. Glenn or whoever will facilitate your marriage preparation process.

 

Second Meeting

After the initial assessment and about a month after the initial meeting, the pastor or his delegate will make a decision proceed with, or delay the wedding. The wedding date will be finalized only at this time so please consider this when planning the other arrangements for your wedding.

Please bring 4 persons to be witnesses for your wedding, 2 for the bride and 2 for the groom. If they cannot attend the second meeting, please have them schedule a meeting with the parish office to sign the required documents. Government Identification will be required for verification purposes.

During this meeting:

  • You will fill out the Prenuptial Inquiry (Form A) and the Letter of Freedom (Form B).

  • You will receive a copy of the liturgical materials for the marriage ceremony and schedule a meeting with the parish liturgical Wedding Coordinators.

  • You will be required to pay the $250 deposit for the wedding.

  • The wedding date will be officially recorded on the Church calendar. he updated Wedding list and other necessary data should be shared by the Office Staff to the parish liturgical Wedding Coordinators.

 

Formal Marriage Preparation Program

Every couple who wishes to be married in the Diocese of Sacramento – whether theirs is a first-time marriage, a convalidation, or a re-marriage – must complete one of the following marriage preparation programs.

Engage couples will also complete the Natural Family Planning seminar with one of our instructors from the Diocese of Sacramento. For information, click here.

 

Required Documents

These documents are required for all marriages within the Diocese of Sacramento. Please submit as many of the documents as you have available to the initial meeting. Other documents may be submitted at a later time but all of these must be submitted 2 months prior to the wedding date.

  • Baptismal Certificates issued within the last 6 months with notations for both the bride and groom

  • Confirmation Certificates if not annotated in the baptismal certificates for both the bride and groom

  • State of California Marriage Certificate or a marriage certificate from the state where the civil marriage was performed and one file. Unless the license is present, no wedding can occur.

  • Prenuptial Inquiry (Form A) from both the bride and groom

  • Letter of Freedom (Form B) from the four witnesses, 2 for the bride and 2 for the groom

  • Marriage Preparation Certificate from any of the Formal Marriage Preparation programs listed above.

  • $500.00 donation to St. Catherine’s.

For the special circumstances listed below, the Diocese of Sacramento will also require:

  • Permission for a Mixed Marriage (for a Catholic to marry a person baptized in a non-Catholic Christian denomination).

  • Petition for Dispensation for Disparity of Worship (for a Catholic to marry a non-baptized person)

Stay Connected

MyParish App

Download the MyParish App today and search for “St. Catherine of Siena, Vallejo, CA”
for access to mass schedules, bulletins, and mass readings from your mobile device.

 
 

Social Media