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Marriage
Congratulations!
We are thankful that God has brought you together and that you are seeking information about marriage in the Catholic Church.
Steps Down the Aisle
What Marriage Preparation Involves
There are critical meetings and paperwork that needs to be taken care of before a date can be set! Do not make any arrangements until you have spoken with the priest who will officiate at your wedding and completed the application process.
At your first meeting, as a couple, with clergy or designated pastoral staff you will talk about your freedom to marry in the Catholic Church, which will allow you to set a date. Later, you will:
- Talk about the sacrament of marriage
- Attend a Pre-Cana workshop and a Natural
Family Planning Introductory Session - Complete the necessary permissions and paperwork, which will be forwarded to the priest at the church where the wedding will take place
Please read through this helpful information
- Engaged? - Information About Marriage Preparation Process (pdf)
- Pre-Cana Workshop
- Natural Family Planning
- Married Life and the Gift of Life (pdf)
- A Cohabitation Conversation - a Busted Halo article
- The Challenges of Cohabitation - a Busted Halo article
- Should we live together (pdf)
- What if I have been married before? (pdf)
- Information from the Diocese of Columbus about marriage and the annulment process (pdf)
Where are you having your wedding?
Working with our pastoral staff? Register and pay online
Marriage Preparation online form
Pre-Cana Workshop Online Registration
Pre-Cana Workshop (pdf)
Other workshops and their dates can be found on the Diocese of Columbus' schedule
In January 2014, the Diocese of Columbus will begin to use a two-day Marriage Preparation Program.
- Day 1 "Living a Joy-Filled Marriage" is a virtue based life-skills program, which will look at communication, conflict resolution, finances, intimacy and prayer.
- Day 2 "God's Plan for a Joy-Filled Marriage offers a refreshing proposal on the nature and purpose of marriage and will look at the meaning of the vows, sacramental life and sexuality through the lens of Blessed John Paul II's Theology of the Body.
If you have any questions about the marriage preparation process or the Pre-Cana Workshop, please contact Fr. Chuck Cunniff, C.S.P.
Information from our friends at BustedHalo.com:
- The Princess, The Priest and The War for The Perfect Wedding.
- Sacraments 101 - Marriage
Natural Family Planning
Natural Family Planning is an umbrella term for certain methods used to achieve or avoid pregnancies. These methods are based on observation of the naturally occurring signs and symptoms of the fertile and infertile phases of a woman's menstrual cycle.
Introductory Session
As part of our marriage preparation ministry, as well as enriching present marriages, the Newman Center, in conjunction with the Diocese of Columbus, offers a quarterly introductory session on Natural Family Planning. This session is information-based and is offered by couples who use NFP. This session satisfies the diocesan marriage policy requiring "all couples preparing for marriage attend an introductory presentation on Natural Family Planning."
It is our hope that this two-hour session will help educate couples (engaged as well as married) in the theological and logistical aspects of Natural Family Planning methods, as well as to encourage them to pursue the training necessary for the practice of Natural Family Planning.
Introductory Sessions
2013
2014
Sessions at the Newman Center are held on Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon. They are open to all. Pre-registration helps us to have the appropriate amount of materials on hand; just click on the session you plan to attend. Other information sessions are available through the Diocesen Marriage and Family Life Office.
Training Workshop
Natural Family Planning Workshops (5 sessions over a two-moth period) are held at various locations throughout the Diocese of Columbus. A workshop will be held at the Newman Center beginning in February 2014. For registration or information about other dates and locations, please contact the Diocesan Marriage and Family Life Office.
- NFP resources (pdf)
For more information, please contact Fr. Chuck Cunniff, C.S.P.
