“Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh” – Mark 10:7

We’re delighted you’re taking this important step in your life! Marriage is a sacrament of the Church, given by God and the decision to marry is one of the most important choices of anyone’s life. Catholics are expected to be married in the Church as part of their faith journey. Given the importance of this sacrament, the Church requires the couple to be prepared adequately to enter into this new life.

Please find below the relevant information to be married in the Catholic Church.

Choosing a date

The Catholic Church requires a minimum of six months’ notice to arrange and prepare a couple for marriage. If you live within the parish boundaries, we will have to do your marriage papers, whether you get married in the parish itself or elsewhere.

What is Christian marriage?

The Church teaches that marriage is a life-long partnership between one man and one woman, established by God and ordered to the well-being of the spouses and to the procreation and education of children. A marriage is formed when a man and a woman freely and irrevocably give and accept one another as husband and wife, according to the rites and laws of the Church. God joins the spouses together in an irrevocable covenant, and gives them His grace to help them love one another and be open to the possibility of having children.

Congratulations on your interest in getting married. The parish community joins you in wishing you well for the future and we will do what we can to facilitate your wish to be married in the Catholic Church. All bookings for weddings at St John the Evangelist or at the Blessed Sacrament Church (or any other Catholic Church anywhere in the world) are taken on condition that both parties are free to marry in the eyes of the Church. Six months’ notice is required by the Church and is needed for compiling the necessary documents.

Two meetings:

If you live within the boundaries of St John’s, Islington or the Blessed Sacrament Church, Copenhagen Street parishes, two meetings are necessary with Fr Rajiv/Fr Daniel irrespective of whether you wish to marry here or anywhere else in the world. If you are intending to marry in another country, that is also fine, but the universal Canon Law of the Church is that your marriage paperwork is completed in the parish in which you actually live and from there is sent, eventually, to the parish in which you intend to marry. Even before we arrange meetings, therefore, it is essential to establish that at least one party (or, in the case of a mixed marriage, the Catholic) of the proposed marriage lives within boundaries of the parish. The first meeting is an information meeting advising the couple of the necessary documents to procure. It is arranged by phoning or emailing the Parish Office: 020 8994 2877 or islington@rcdow.org.uk The second meeting requires the Bride and Groom to be in attendance as they must complete the application for the sacrament with all the required documents and sign the application witnessed also by the priest.

The documents required:

1. Baptism Certificate. Both parties are to acquire an original certificate confirming their Baptism in the Catholic Church from the Church where they were baptised. The document must be dated within six months of the date set for the wedding. If one of the parties is not a Catholic but is a Baptised Christian, a copy of the original Baptism Certificate will suffice. If one of the parties is not Christian, not Baptised or belongs to another religion, it is still perfectly feasible for them to marry in the Catholic Church provided certain conditions of faith are met for the Catholic.
2. Evidence of Freedom. Both parties are to acquire a Statutory Declaration of Freedom with the assistance of a Solicitor or Commissioner of Oaths. The form will be given to you at the first meeting to complete ready for the second meeting.
3. Catholic Marriage Preparation Course Certificate. Both parties, irrespective of whether one party is not Catholic, must complete a Catholic Marriage Preparation Course.

You will find a range of approved local courses as well as online courses on the Diocesan website: https://rcdow.org.uk/marriage-and-family-life/will-you-marry-me-preparation–formation/  

If you require further guidance on this, please speak to either Fr Rajiv/Fr Daniel at your first meeting.

• The Marriage Schedule. For those couples marrying in a Catholic Church in the United Kingdom, both parties must approach the Town Hall to which they pay Council Tax and thereby notify the state of their intention to marry. The borough then issues ‘a Marriage Schedule’ which licenses the Catholic Church to conduct the Civil Marriage as well as it being the Church Marriage. The application form for this license is normally obtainable from a Town Hall website but it must be applied for in person with the appropriate proofs of identity etc. The Church cannot legally conduct the marriage without this license.

*For those couples marrying overseas the Notification of Marriage may not be necessary but it is most strenuously recommended that they research through the appropriate consulate and embassy websites any civil requirements which may be necessary to conduct a civil marriage even if the religious marriage is the couple’s focus.

Failure to due diligence in this regard could result in the couple being married in the eyes of the Church (i.e. morally, canonically and sacramentally) but not married in the eyes of the State, i.e. technically, not legally married, if the State happens to be one which does not recognise a Church wedding as a legal contract.

• Certificate of Confirmation. If either or both are confirmed in the Catholic Church a copy of the Certificate of Confirmation is requested although it should in fact feature on the evidence of Baptism. Other countries, among them popular destinations such as France, Italy, Ireland and Spain, often require additional documents but these will be explained at the first meeting.

Completing the Application for Marriage:

All of the above documents are best acquired after the Information Meeting with the priest. Once they are acquired then it is time to arrange the second appointment with Fr Rajiv/Fr Daniel for the formal Application for Marriage itself and the completion of the application through the diocesan Chancery Office and onwards to the church of the marriage. A contribution of £50 is requested by the Chancery Office to cover the diocesan expenses of processing and sending the application and a further £50 for the parish which has facilitated the completion of the application. However, if this represents a financial hardship for the couple, the parish figure should be reduced. If absolutely necessary, both figures can be waived.

If the wedding is proposed for either St John’s, Islington or the Blessed Sacrament Church, Copenhagen Street, it would be at that second meeting that we could also begin to plan the wedding service itself, considering the readings and hymns among other things. Also, in terms of fees, £50 is paid to the Registrar of the wedding who represents the State and provides the Civil Marriage Certificate. The second fee, usually £180, is payable to the Organist if the couple require one. The Church herself does not charge a fee for Marriage but there is an expectation that the couple will give a donation to the Church in gratitude for the wedding day as well as all of the preparation, which is suggested at £300.

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