Dear Friends,

Because the Sacrament of Marriage is a matter of great joy and importance, the Basilica of St. Paul congratulates you both on your decision to give yourselves to one another in Christian Marriage.

The Catholic Church believes that Christian marriage is the union of a man and woman who freely enter into a covenant of love with each other and Christ for the purpose of giving and receiving love as well as for the procreation and education of children.

The Church takes the preparation for this life-long experience most seriously and we want the day of your wedding to be one that will hold wonderful memories. A wedding lasts for a day, and a marriage lasts for a lifetime. Our purpose is for marriage preparation, and not wedding planning.

In the months ahead, many people will be assisting you through discussion, sharing, and prayer to identify, witness and live your special kind of relationship with the Lord. This relationship becomes a covenant with the Lord through the celebration of Matrimony. These celebrations are incomplete unless they are filled with song, prayerful gestures and the silence in which we hear the voice of God in our lives.

This webpage is intended to guide you through the marriage preparation process at the Basilica of St. Paul in accordance with the polices for marriage preparation from the Diocese of Orlando. Click here to learn more about diocesan marriage preparation.

The Sacrament of Marriage

The sacrament of Marriage is one of the 7 sacraments of the Catholic Church. It is known as a “sacrament of service” in which the married couple serves God and the Church in living out their Baptism. Marriage is a covenant bond, and not a contractual bond. The two-fold nature of marriage is for (1) The expression and support of the love of husband and wife AND (2) the procreation and raising of children in the practice of the faith.

The Sacrament of Marriage has an important community dimension. Couples, by their love for each other, become living signs of how God loves us. The sacrament of Marriage assures a couple’s ability to sustain a close intimate relationship and it mirrors the relationship of Christ to His Church.