marriage

Marriage

MARRIAGE PREPARATION COURSE AT OUR PARISH:

 

MARRIAGE PREPARATION COURSE AT ALL SAINTS’ PARISH

Our marriage preparation course for 2025 will be held in February on the following dates:

Saturday, February 1, 8, 15 and 22, 2025 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in the Parish Hall.

Engaged couples can register for the course at the parish office. The fee is $150.00 per couple.

Payment can be made in cash or cheque payable to All Saints’ Parish. 

Please contact the Parish office for more information and registration at 416-244-3066 Ext. 0 

​​Sacrament of Matrimony at All Saints' Parish

​Please call the parish office one year before planning your wedding date and before making any banquet hall commitments. A marriage preparation instruction course is necessary.

Please register your family if you are not yet a member of All Saints' Parish by coming to the parish office or fill out the registration form online and drop it off in the office or during Sunday Mass in the collection basket. For the donation Envelopes, please request them directly in the parish office. 

NEW PARISH REGISTRATION FORM.pdf

Please read the information below and call our Parish office at 416 244 3066  ext. 0

DOCUMENTS:

The following documents are required when being married in the Roman Catholic Church. Couples are required to have an interview with the Pastor at least 1 year prior to the wedding date. All documents are to be submitted to the office a minimum of three weeks before the wedding date.

 

1. Baptismal Certificates

All Catholics being married are required to present an updated certificate of Baptism, issued within six months of their marriage date.

Please– DO NOT submit your original baptismal certificate or a photocopy of your original baptismal certificate. To procure a recent copy of you baptismal certificate you must contact the church at which you were baptized, regardless of whether the church is located in Canada or abroad.

In the case that one cannot obtain a re-issued baptismal certificate a notarized statement (affidavit) is required. The affidavit requires:

– two witnesses (that were physically present at your baptismal ceremony)

– to attest to you receiving the Sacrament of Baptism

– it must state the date and

– the name of the church at which the Sacrament took place.

 

2.  Civil Marriage License

It is the responsibility of the couple to obtain a civil license. A license can be obtained a maximum of three months prior to the marriage date.

The marriage license and the accompanying envelope must be submitted. DO NOT write on the envelope.

 

3.  Marriage Preparation Course

If you completed a Marriage Preparation course at a parish other than All Saints', a certificate testifying the completion of the course must be submitted.

 

4.  Witnesses

On a separate sheet of paper, please submit the names and address of your witnesses.

 

IMPORTANT NOTE:  All stipends relating to your wedding at All Saints' are to be submitted a minimum of one week before the wedding date. All stipends should be given to the Priest the day of Rehearsal.  

 

5. Rehearsal

The couple, their parents, the witnesses and the readers (lectors) should come to the rehearsal usually within a week of the wedding date. They should come prepare to go through the readings and other details of the ceremony.

 

6. Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession)

The day of rehearsal, the couple usually come early and prepared for confession. These are two videos that can help the couple to prepare for confession:

https://www.catholic.org/prayers/confession.php  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ib8pzvnnL20

Also please visit: https://www.archtoronto.org/en/offices-and-ministries/sub-sites/confession/home/how-to-go-to-confession/ for more information on how to go to Confession.

 

Here is some information you might want to know about the Sacrament of Matrimony:

Why Marriage is a Sacrament?

A Sacramental Marriage. The Sacrament of Marriage is a lasting commitment of a man and a woman to a lifelong partnership, established for the good of each other and the procreation of their children. Marriage is different to most of the Sacraments which are conferred by a priest, or bishop.

 

What happens during the Sacrament of Matrimony?

The Catholic Sacrament of Matrimony: The Catholic Church distinguishes between a legal marriage and the Sacrament of Matrimony. The Sacrament of Matrimony involves two baptized people, one or both of whom are Catholic, becoming husband and wife through a sacred covenant with God and each other.

 

What does a Sacrament do?

In the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church, "the sacraments are efficacious signs of grace, instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church, by which divine life is dispensed to us. The visible rites by which the sacraments are celebrated signify and make present the graces proper to each sacrament.

 

What is the purpose of the Sacrament of Reconciliation?

In the Catholic Church, sin is that which separates you from God. The Sacrament of Reconciliation, also known as Confession, involves you thinking about what your sins are, resolving to avoid the sins in the future, confessing your sins to a Priest and performing the Penance the Priest assigns to you.

 

Why is Reconciliation important in the Catholic Church?

It is properly called the Sacrament of Penance or Sacrament of Confession. Reconciliation is important because it repairs our relationship with God once we have damaged it by our own sins. When we repent of our sins in confession, we return to being fully in communion with Jesus, through His grace and mercy.

 

What are the four major parts of the Sacrament of Reconciliation?

The four main parts of the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation are contrition, Confession, penance, and absolution.

 

What happens at Confession?

Typically, the penitent begins sacramental confession by saying, "Bless me Father, for I have sinned. It has been [time period] since my last confession." The penitent must then confess what he/she believes to be grave and mortal sins, in both kind and number, in order to be reconciled with God and the Church.


Sacrament of Matrimony

The liturgy of the Sacrament of Marriage in the Church is full of beautiful symbols and blessings. Discerning this sacrament as a divine calling for you is more crucial than one's consideration of many well-known social benefits of marriage. The Church believes and teaches marriage as "a special sacrament" for "the duties of marriage in mutual and lasting fidelity" [1] and "mutual help and service" between a baptized man and a baptized woman in the unique, life-long partnership of total and mutual self-giving love. Marriage and married love are by their nature ordered toward the good of the spouses and the procreation and education of offspring, so that a man and a woman by their union in Christ are "no longer two, but one flesh" (Matt. 19ff).[2]

​[1] Liturgy of the Sacrament of Marriage.
[2] Gaudium et Spes, 48.​

 

Frequently Asked Questions


1. We just got engaged! What sho​uld we do to get married in the Catholic Church?

Congratulations! The first step is to contact your local Catholic parish. If both of you are Catholic, you may contact either one of your parish priests. Your pastor will schedule a series of interviews with you both in order to prepare you pastorally for marriage.


2. Is completion of an approved marriage preparation program a requirement for getting married in the Catholic Church?

If you planned to be married in a parish within the Archdiocese of Toronto, yes, it is a requirement to complete an approved marriage preparation program.


3. How far in advance should the couple intending to be married speak to the pastor about their anticipated wedding date?

Couples should speak to their pastor at least twelve months in advance.


4. Is the celebration different if the bride or the groom isn't Catholic?

To maintain consistency across the Archdiocese of Toronto, it is a policy that no Eucharist be celebrated for marriages between a Catholic and a non-baptized person. The celebration of the Eucharist at marriages between a Catholic and a validly baptized non-Catholic is discouraged.


5. Can ministers of non-Catholic Christian communities take part in a Catholic wedding?

Yes, and you must consult your priest for the arrangement.


6. Do Bible readings have to be part of the wedding liturgy?

Yes. There are many beautiful passages and themes from the list of the readings for the couple to consider together. Their priest will be able to help them find appropriate readings.


7. We have prepared our own vows and would like to use the ones we prepared, at the exchange of vows ceremony. Is this allowed?

No. There are many places for creative choice in the ceremony, but the content of the vows is for the validity of the act of entering marriage and therefore we ask that the given formula be carefully observed.


8. We have selected some well-known and meaningful pieces of music for our wedding. However, our Pastor will not allow us to use them.

In planning your wedding, you must consult the Pastor and the existing policy about music and the securing of musicians on your music selection. The Church has a rich repertoire of beautiful and suitable music and hymns. We are confident that with your Pastor’s help, you will find meaningful pieces of music for such a sacred event as your wedding celebration. Celebrating Matrimony takes place within the context of a liturgical ceremony, which is regulated by the Church.


9. Is it true that the Church doesn't recommend that the bride's father give her away?

Culture and family are very much part of the discussion in terms of the details of the celebration. Your priest will be able to speak to your particular situation.


10. We would like to be married in a Catholic Church in another country. How do we go about it?

The procedure to get married in a Catholic Church in another country or Diocese is similar to getting married locally. Please contact your local Pastor who will prepare you for marriage and instruct you to take the Marriage Preparation Course. The Marriage documents are then 'transferred' to the Parish of marriage in the other country via the Chancery offices of the respective Dioceses involved or by being handed back to you to send to the Diocese which you will be married in, months in advance of your wedding.


11. Could we get permission to marry outside the Catholic Church, for example, at a Banquet Hall?

A parish church is the ordinary place for the celebration of a marriage involving two Catholics or a Catholic and a baptized non-Catholic. Since the marriage of two baptized persons is a sacrament, it is not merely a private or familial celebration but also an ecclesial event. The spouses declare their consent before God and the Church and live out that commitment in and with the support of the local ecclesial community. Therefore, this celebration should take place in the parish church. Exceptions are only made when there is a grave and urgent cause such as illness or danger of death.


12. I am Roman Catholic but my spouse-to-be is a non-Christian. To satisfy the wishes of both our families, we would like to have two wedding ceremonies, one at the Roman Catholic Church, and another ceremony to follow or precede, in the non-Christian Church. Is this allowed?

Canon 1127 §3 of the Code of Canon Law forbids a double celebration of the same marriage for the purpose of giving or renewing matrimonial consent.


13. I have been married before in the Catholic Church. I have made arrangements to get married in two months. Can a Catholic Priest marry us as scheduled?

We cannot guarantee that a Catholic priest can officiate your wedding. Generally speaking, betrothed couples are advised to make arrangement with their local Pastor at least one year before their tentatively planned date of marriage. If either of you were previously married, you must disclose that information to your parish priest who will consult the Marriage Tribunal about your situation: the Church maintains that the new union cannot be recognized as valid if the first marriage is valid. In addition, a special second marriage preparation course by Catholic Fam​ily Services of Toronto is mandatory.


14. Can we use Banns or do we have to be married by Marriage Licence?

A couple must be married by Marriage Licence. It is our policy to not publish Banns in the Archdiocese of Toronto.


15. We would like to have our wedding on a Sunday to accommodate our relatives who will be travelling from out of town for our wedding?

According to the particular law of the Archdiocese of Toronto (promulgated since 1971), weddings in the Catholic Church are not allowed to be celebrated on Sundays or Holy Days of Obligation (January 1, the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God and December 25, the Solemnity of the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ).

 

Resources

To learn more about the Sacrament of Matrimony, these resources may help: