Marriage
Welcome! We congratulate you on the occasion of your engagement and upcoming marriage. If you are considering Christ the King Parish, either St. Ferdinand Church or St. Henry Church, as the place for you to celebrate the Sacrament of Marriage, we want to support and assist you in the best way possible as you embark on this very important and joy-filled commitment in your lives. Call the parish office at 812-367-1212 before booking anything else to be sure the date is available!
Marriage Preparation usually starts about 6 months before the wedding and there are three required parts:
Foccus
The FOCCUS Pre-Marriage Inventory is a comprehensive, user-friendly tool for use by lay individuals, couples or professionals who are helping couples prepare for marriage, and who become trained as FOCCUS Facilitators. The FOCCUS© Inventory is designed to help engaged couples appreciate their unique relationship, learn more about themselves, and discuss topics important to their lifelong marriage.
To learn more about FOCCUS and to schedule this required inventory as part of your marriage preparation, contact the parish office at 812-367-1212.
Marriage is a wonderful Catholic calling. We want to offer you marriage/wedding preparation steps for the Big Day! Click here for more information on attending the Evansville Diocese marriage retreat and to register: Unveiled Retreat
Couple Sponsorship
This may be required even if you attend the Unveiled Retreat. Please ask the priest/deacon marrying you if you need to participate in this.
Meeting with the Priest/Deacon
During these meetings, you will go over other marriage preparation questions or whatever is still needed as directed by the priest/deacon.
Rules and Regulations on Planning the Sacrament of Marriage
This packet contains rules and regulations for the marriage ceremony and the use of our parish churches.
"Saying I Do: What Happens at a Catholic Wedding"
This video walks the viewer through the three options for the Order of Celebrating Matrimony: within Mass, without Mass, and between a Catholic and a Catechumen or a non-Christian. - From the USCCB Website
What is the Sacrament of Marriage?
Sacred Scripture begins with the creation and union of man and woman and ends with "the wedding feast of the Lamb" (Rev 19:7, 9). Scripture often refers to marriage, its origin and purpose, the meaning God gave to it, and its renewal in the covenant made by Jesus with his Church.
God created man and woman out of love and commanded them to imitate his love in their relations with each other. Man and woman were created for each other. "It is not good that the man should be alone. I will make a suitable partner for him. . . . The two of them become one body" (Gn 2:18; 24). Woman and man are equal in human dignity, and in marriage both are united in an unbreakable bond.
Jesus brought to full awareness the divine plan for marriage. In John’s Gospel, Christ’s first miracle occurs at the wedding in Cana. “The Church attaches great importance to Jesus’ presence at the wedding in Cana. She sees in it the confirmation of the goodness of marriage and the proclamation that thenceforth marriage will be an efficacious sign of Christ’s presence” (CCC, no. 1613).
By their marriage, the couple witnesses Christ's spousal love for the Church. One of the Nuptial Blessings in the liturgical celebration of marriage refers to this in saying, "Father, you have made the union of man and wife so holy a mystery that it symbolizes the marriage of Christ and his Church."
The Sacrament of Marriage is a covenant, which is more than a contract. A 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. The celebration of marriage is also a liturgical act, appropriately held in a public liturgy at church. Catholics are urged to celebrate their marriage within the Eucharistic Liturgy.
Preparing for the Sacrament of Marriage
The decision to marry is both profound and joyous. Couples desiring to celebrate the Sacrament of Marriage must be registered in a parish. The couple must contact the parish office to set a wedding date and reserve the church, participate and complete their registered parish's marriage formation program, and secure a priest or deacon to be present for the rehearsal and preside at the celebration.
The Sacrament of Marriage is part of a wider parish experience of prayer. The Sacrament of Marriage is an act of worship and, although it has its own special quality, should have those elements common and central to all acts of worship. Therefore, the parish’s normal celebration of Sunday (Mass) worship should be the example in preparing the liturgy in which the Sacrament of Marriage will be celebrated within.
The celebration of the Sacrament of Marriage belongs to the whole church. You, the bride and groom, are the principal ministers of the sacrament: you marry each other. You promise each other lasting love and fidelity. You do this before the minister of the Church and the assembly gathered, a gathering of family, friends, and neighbors — the People of God — the Church itself!
