Marriage / Matrimonio

We at St. Frances Church are grateful to be a part of your preparation for a lifetime of shared, mutual love in the Sacrament of Marriage. You will be meeting with a dedicated and faith filled team of people who will help you prepare for married life and assist you with planning your wedding celebration.

Marriage as a civil contract is an agreement between a man and a woman of sufficient age that binds them together for as long as they mutually agree to fulfill the obligations of husband and wife to and for each other.

The Sacrament of Matrimony signifies a covenant with Christ and the Church. It gives spouses the grace to love each other as Christ loves his Church. The grace of the sacrament thus perfects the human love of the spouses, strengthens their indissoluble unity and sanctifies them on the way to eternal life.

The Christ-like relationship established in the Sacrament of Matrimony is one that relates the man and the woman not only to each other, but also to God and the Church as a sign of God’s everlasting love and fidelity. The Church celebrates the beginning of marriage with great joy and surrounds the ceremony with appropriate signs of the sacred covenant entered into by the newly married couple is the celebration of the Eucharist with the parish community. Couples preparing for marriage are strongly urged to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation early and to extend their invitation to all Catholics attending the wedding, especially the witnesses and attendants, on the day of the marriage.

You will need two (2) “Freedom to Marry” forms for each, bride and groom, four (4) forms altogether. The forms must be completed by two witnesses each, who have known you since child hood and know whether you have been married before. This can be parents, siblings, or friends. These forms have to be signed, by the witnesses, in front of a priest or deacon. If the forms are not completed at St. Frances X. Cabrini church, they have to be also signed and sealed by the church of completion.

For additional information, please contact: Margo – Monday – Thursday from 8:30 – 12:30 and 1:30 – 5:30 Phone: 909-797-2533 ext. 225