Marriage
The Catholic sacrament of Holy Matrimony is a life-long union between one man and one woman. It must follow a period of preparation, and you must have a full understanding of its nature and responsibilities.
The secular notion of marriage as simply a state registered contract that can be quickly made and quickly dissolved is very different from what the Catholic Church believes and teaches about the sacrament of Holy Matrimony. The sacrament of Holy Matrimony is one of the seven sacraments of the Catholic Church. Each of these seven sacraments is a sacred action performed by Christ Himself. In these seven sacraments God gives us His own true presence, His life and His love. The sacrament of Holy Matrimony is God’s blessing, not only on your wedding day, but for every day of your married life together.
The Catholic Church teaches that there are two purposes to marriage: the unitive and the procreative. Husband and wife are united in a lifelong bond of love, fidelity, and mutual support. In an imperfect world, you will need God’s help to be faithful to your marriage vows. Only with His help will it be possible for you to live together in faithful love, until death.
God’s will is that your marriage should be lovingly fruitful. Married couples co-operate with the Creator by bringing children into the world, caring for them, and raising them in the Catholic faith. This is a primary reason for getting married; to become parents together, to raise a family together. All artificial and unnatural means of birth prevention impede God’s plan for creation. It is important that both of you clearly understand this teaching and its implications, and it should be fully discussed with your priest.
For Catholics, the most important thing in their lives should always be their Catholic faith. In special cases, the Church can give permission for a Catholic to marry a non-Catholic Christian, or a member of another religion, or none. When such permission is granted, the Catholic partner must promise two things, within the unity of their marriage: firstly, that they themselves will do all they can to preserve and strengthen their own Catholic faith; and secondly, that all their children will be baptised and brought up as practising Catholics.
Please speak to one of the priests if you would like to discuss marriage in the Catholic Church, leaving enough time for organisation and for the course of spiritual instruction you will be given.
Practical Points of Consideration
Enquiry Stage
Initial enquiries regarding the use of the Church should ideally be made in person to one of the Priests.
All subsequent meetings arrangements will be done through this particular choice of Priest.
No wedding “bookings” will be taken over the telephone or by email, though an initial enquiry can be made.
In order to celebrate the Sacrament of Matrimony in the Catholic Church, at least one of you must be a Catholic. If you do not normally assist at Holy Mass at St Patrick’s, please state the name of the parish where you normally attend Mass and give the concrete reasons you wish to marry here (for instance, historical family connections etc). Please remember that it is important to approach the church first before making your plans for a reception venue. We do not have weddings on a Sunday. No dates will be confirmed until you both meet with a priest from the Edinburgh Oratory in Formation here at St Patrick’s, the parents of the bride or bridegroom (or extended family members) should not attempt to make arrangements on their behalf.
Marriage Preparation
Your wedding should be the culmination of much prayer and reflection. Your priest will guide you in this process. To assist you in this, it is required that both of you attend Marriage Preparation either with a priest here or your local parish, as per Archdiocesan norms.
Order of Service
You may choose to have a Wedding Service, or (if both spouses are Catholic) a Nuptial Mass which can be in English or Latin. Please consult with the priest helping you regarding this question. There is a choice of readings and music to be made in either case.
Music
The music provided must be approved through the Prefect of Music (one of the Priests) and or by our Director of Music. Professional Musicians charge fees commensurate to their talents, any fees they charge and any recording of their work is part of their livelihood. If you wish to record your wedding, you will have to pay an additional fee to those performing the music, as required by law. Our Director of Music or our Organist can give you more information.
Please note that only sacred music can be used at weddings in our church, and recorded music is prohibited.
Church Preparations and Fees
Territorial Parishioners are of course able to make free use of the church, visitors are expected to contribute to the upkeep of the Parish fabric, the current expectation is that bride or groom would normally make a donation to the collection plate of approximately £10 per week over the course of a year, the minimum suggested donation therefore for visitors desiring to be married at St Patrick’s is £520.