OVERVIEW
Para información en español, visite la página web en aqui.
To begin the process of preparation for Sacrament of Marriage in the Catholic Church, contact your local parish as soon as possible (at least six months to one year prior to your desired date). You will need to meet with your parish priest or deacon who will be preparing you for the sacrament of marriage. Note that most parishes will not schedule the wedding until you have met with the priest or deacon overseeing your preparation.
Below are approved options for marriage preparation offered throughout the Diocese of Orange. Please verify with the priest or deacon who is preparing you for marriage before you register and pay for a program to ensure that it is right for you.
Natural Family Planning is also strongly recommended as part of a good Marriage Preparation.
Note regarding CONVALIDATIONS: Couples seeking to have their marriages validated by the Church can obtain information by contacting their local parish.
Special Invitation to Diocesan Convalidation Communal Wedding (preparation and ceremony)
In light of the California bishops’ pastoral initiative Radiate Love: Celebrating Marriage & Family, the Diocese of Orange is offering a special opportunity to Catholic couples who are civilly married but not yet sacramentally married to have their marriage validated by the Catholic Church in a communal wedding Mass with Most Reverend Timothy Freyer, D.D., Auxiliary Bishop of Orange. The nuptial Mass will be on Friday, May 2, 2025 at 6 pm at Christ Cathedral.
Preparation for the Sacrament of Marriage will be provided in English and in Spanish by the Diocese of Orange Office for Family Life.
Spots are limited. Formation process begins on Oct. 21, 2024.
Due to our limited preparation timeline, we will only accept couples who have no prior marriages (in or outside of the Church). We are only able to accept couples who are married civilly (or cohabitating) with one and the same partner whom they will be marrying at this nuptial Mass.
Only couples who are both baptized Catholics and registered parishioners in the Diocese of Orange are eligible for this communal wedding. Acknowledgement from the bride’s pastor that the couple will be married by Bishop Freyer must be obtained as part of registration.
- Contact your local parish for an appointment to complete the Pre-Nuptial Investigation with your pastor, priest, or deacon.
- Obtain new copies of the baptismal certificates of both the bride and groom from the parishes where you were baptized. If the parish no longer exists or baptismal records are unavailable, contact the Chancery office of that Catholic diocese for assistance.
- Submit the following documents to the Diocesan Office for Family Life along with your registration form & fee ($500 per couple) for the Diocesan Civil Marriage Initiative formation program. Spots are limited.
- Newly-issued Baptismal certificates
- Copy of certificates for Confirmation and First Holy Communion
- Letters of Freedom to Marry (2)
- Pre-Nuptial Investigation
- Acknowledgement from the bride’s pastor that the couple will be married by Bishop Freyer at Christ Cathedral
- Copy of marriage certificate, if already married civilly
- Prayerfully discern who you would like to ask to be your mentor couple, and ask them! Mentor couples must be
- Sacramentally married for at least 5-10 years
- Not a member of either the bride or groom’s family
- Active members of the same parish as the bride/groom
- A couple whose marriage you admire
- Attend all meetings and fulfill all formation program requirements:
- Kick-off meeting
- FOCCUS Pre-marital inventory for convalidations
- Group Coaching meeting: complete by November 15 – Mentor couples must also attend
- Meet 3 times with your mentor couple (November-March). Your parish priest or deacon will join you for Meeting #3.
- Couples retreat: March 2025 – Mentor couples must also attend
- Rehearsal – TBD April 2024
- Nuptial Mass: Friday, May 2, 2025 at 6 pm at Christ Cathedral
- After the wedding, meet at least one more time with your mentor couple (Meeting #4).
For more information about this special opportunity, please contact officeforfamilylife@rcbo.org.
Diocese of Orange MARRIAGE PREPARATION PROGRAM OPTIONS FOR COUPLES
WITNESS TO LOVE
Witness to Love invites engaged couples to journey through their marriage preparation with a mentor couple of their choice from their parish. The program integrates modern principles of psychology and the virtues to help couples facilitate an authentic dialogue about their relationship. In addition to meetings with their mentor couple, engaged couples will attend a retreat and other activities as part of their formation for marriage.
Witness to Love is currently offered at the following parishes:
- Deanery 1: Blessed Sacrament, Christ Cathedral, St. Irenaeus
- Deanery 2: San Antonio de Padua
- Deanery 3: St. Anthony Claret, St. Juliana Falconieri, Our Lady of Guadalupe in La Habra, and Holy Cross Melkite Church
- Deanery 5: St. Joachim
- Deanery 6: Santiago de Compostela, St. Thomas More, Our Lady of Peace Korean Center.
If you would like to prepare for marriage with Witness to Love, but your parish is not yet offering this program, you can use the Witness to Love Hybrid Experience (formerly called the Virtual Pathway).
The Witness to Love Hybrid Experience offers you and your future spouse the same marriage preparation process as the parish-based program, except your initial steps and introduction to the process are completed with the help of Witness to Love coaches. To find out more and to get started, go to the Hybrid Experience webpage and fill out the intake form. A Witness to Love team member will reach out to you and get you everything you need to start your journey!
For more information on how to bring Witness to Love to your parish, click here.
MARRIAGE IN THE LORD
This program is open to couples from all parishes in the diocese. It is presented by married couples who share their experience of marriage to help engaged couples communicate effectively and grow together in their relationship with God and the Church. The program is offered in a workshop series format, where engaged couples are given topics to share with each other and with other couples. Couples must attend all sessions of a series to receive completion certificate. Materials are provided for continuing value after marriage. Various parishes and deaneries host this program in our diocese.
- “The Two Shall Become One” marriage preparation classes are offered on four consecutive Wednesday nights from 6:00-7:30 pm at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Costa Mesa. Register online. Fee is $200 per couple. Call 714-540-2214 with any questions.
- January 8, 15, 22, 29, 2025
- March 12, 19, 26, April 2, 2025
- June 4, 11, 18, 25, 2025
- October 1, 8 15, 22, 2025
- Classes are offered on four consecutive Friday nights from 7:00-9:30 pm at St. John Neumann Catholic Church, 5101 Alton Pkwy. in Irvine. Register online or by calling St. John Neumann church office at 949-559-4006. Current schedule:
- February 7, 14, 21, 28, 2025
- September 5, 12, 19, 26, 2025
- Classes are offered on four consecutive Wednesday nights from 7:00-9:30 pm at Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Newport Beach. Cost is $95 per couple. To register, contact Deacon Steve Mutz at 949-370-6574. Current schedule:
- January 8, 15, 22, 29, 2025
- March 5, 12, 19, 26, 2025
- May 7, 14, 21, 28, 2025
- July 9, 16, 23, 30, 2025
- September 3, 10, 17, 24, 2025
- Classes are offered on four consecutive Friday nights from 7:00-10:00 pm at St. Edward the Confessor Catholic Church in Dana Point. Registration form can be downloaded here and submitted to the address provided. Fee is $125 per couple. Current schedule:
- Workshop 1 – January 10, 17, 24, 31, 2025
- Workshop 2 – April 25, May 2, 9, 16, 2025
- Workshop 3 – September 19, 26, October 3, 10, 2025
Para más información en español, comuníquese con su parroquia o visite la página web en aqui.
Lớp Dự Bị Hôn Nhân tiếng Việt được tổ chức tại Trung Tâm Công Giáo Việt Nam ở Santa Ana. Chương trình này gồm có 9 buổi học với phần trắc nghiệm (thi) và giám định xem các đôi bạn đã sẵn sàng để lập gia đình với nhau chưa. Các buổi học được tổ chức vào tháng 1, tháng 3, tháng 5, tháng 7, tháng 9, và tháng 11. Xin gọi để biết thêm chi tiết: 714-554-4211.
CATHOLIC ENGAGED ENCOUNTER
Catholic Engaged Encounter of Orange County is offering their weekend retreats in person and online at this time. CEE’s current schedule, pricing, and more information are posted on their website.
The Engaged Encounter Weekend offers couples a unique opportunity to look at their commitment to each other in a deeper way as they prepare for marriage. It gives them the opportunity to focus exclusively on each other, free from the pressure and distractions of the outside world.
Though Catholic in origin, the Engaged Encounter Weekend experience more generally calls a man and a woman as a couple to strive for a sacramental way of life through the vocation of marriage. The weekend is an in-depth, private, personal, marriage preparation experience within the context of Catholic faith and values, but is not limited to Catholic couples.
Further information is available by contacting Catholic Engaged Encounter at orangecounty@engagedencounter.com.
BELOVED – Online
The Godly Plan for Love & Holy Matrimony team offers sponsors to work with engaged couples through the Beloved online series course. Natural Family Planning included. The team welcomes couples with loss of prior marriages and those seeking to have their marriage validated in the Church. Register at http://gpmp.org/ or contact 714-639-6236 or godsplanmarriageprep@gmail.com
MARRIAGE PREPARATION- VIETNAMESE
Preparation classes are conducted in Vietnamese at the Vietnamese Catholic Center in Santa Ana. There are nine sessions which include a test and evaluation of a couple’s readiness for marriage. Sessions are held in January, March, May, July, September and November.
For further information, call 714-554-4211
CHƯƠNG TRÌNH DỰ BỊ HÔN NHÂN TIẾNG VIỆT
Lớp Dự Bị Hôn Nhân tiếng Việt được tổ chức tại Trung Tâm Công Giáo Việt Nam ở Santa Ana. Chương trình này gồm có 9 buổi học với phần trắc nghiệm (thi) và giám định xem các đôi bạn đã sẵn sàng để lập gia đình với nhau chưa. Các buổi học được tổ chức vào tháng 1, tháng 3, tháng 5, tháng 7, tháng 9, và tháng 11. Xin gọi để biết thêm chi tiết: 714-554-4211
Options from other Dioceses (online)
The below options are provided for cases where engaged couples are separated by long distance or extenuating circumstances that prevent them from completing one of our local programs above.
- SmartLoving Engaged is an online Catholic marriage preparation course for engaged couples. Consisting of 9 lessons, a couple can progress through the course at their own pace and will receive a certificate of completion at the end. It is strongly recommended to go through the course with your sponsor couple. For more information and to register for the course visit: www.smartloving.org/orange
- CatholicMarriagePrep.com from Agape Catholic Ministries partners engaged couples with mentor instructors online. Fee: $239-289. Languages: English, Spanish, French.
- Living Our Faith in Love by The Marriage Group is a self-paced online and on-demand program. You can start and stop at any time and take as long as you need to complete. Fee: $195. Languages: English and captioning in English or Spanish. (Includes introductory NFP segment, NFP Life)