
Matrimony
Now, not with lust, but with fidelity I take this kinswoman as my wife.
Send down your mercy on me and on her, and grant that we may grow old together.
- Tobit 8:7
Congratulations!
Congratulations on your engagement! We are most excited and honored to support you in your preparation for this beautiful, life-long commitment to each other, in which God Himself joins you together through the Sacrament of Matrimony.
As part of your engagement, the Church requires a process of marriage preparation (sometimes referred to as “Pre-Cana”). Marriage preparation will help form you to make this extraordinary decision. Through this process, you’ll learn more about yourselves and one another as together you discern this path in your lives. We hope that marriage preparation also helps you appreciate the beauty of getting married in the Catholic Church - for in this sacrament, God bestows His grace to enable you to live out joyfully the responsibilities and duties of married love through mutual self-gift. You’ll be encouraged to know that sociological studies have demonstrated that couples who engage in marriage preparation have a significantly lower risk of divorce than couples who do not, and have more satisfying marriages (e.g. Stanley, “Premarital Education,” 2006).
On this page are resources and requirements in order to complete marriage preparation at St. Francis Xavier Parish in the Diocese of Harrisburg. The first step in this process is to complete the form below in order to get in touch with a priest and to schedule your first meeting.
Please note, before a wedding date can be scheduled, it is necessary for you to begin marriage preparation (either here or at your local Catholic parish) by meeting with the priest first.
During Marriage Preparation you can expect:
To complete a Pre-Marital Questionnaire with the priest to gather necessary information.
To complete a FOCCUS questionnaire, later discussed with a wonderful mentor couple, who will walk with you as you prepare for marriage (and during your marriage!).
To attend a marriage preparation retreat - either:
Catholic Engaged Encounter retreat weekend
God's Plan for Love Saturday retreat
For more information about these retreats, and to see upcoming scheduled events, click HERE.
To receive resources about Natural Family Planning. Visit our NFP page and contact St. Francis Xavier’s Natural Family Planning Parish Ambassadors, Phil and Becca Dickerson for NFP resources, methods, and questions.
To meet with our Parish Wedding Planner, Cindie Kane, to plan the details of your wedding liturgy.
To meet with a priest and learn more about the Catholic Church’s beautiful teaching about marriage. (This meeting is what you might call “catechetical instruction” on the sacrament.)
Getting Married?
Fill out this form to begin the process of marriage preparation
for your wedding at St. Francis Xavier.
Mass Times
Mass is celebrated both at the Historic Church (25 W. High Street)
and at the Xavier Center (465 Table Rock Road).
SUNDAY | DOMINGO
7:30 am (English) Xavier Center
9:00 am (Bilingual) Xavier Center | Centro Xavier**
10:30 am (English) Xavier Center
12:00 pm (Español) Centro Xavier
**Hybrid & Live Stream
MONDAY - THURSDAY | DE LUNES A JUEVES
7:00 am (English) Historic Church
WEDNESDAY | MIÉRCOLES
7:00 am (English) Historic Church
6:30 pm (Español) Iglesia Histórica
FRIDAY | VIERNES
12:00 pm (English) Historic Church
Adoration following Mass until 5:00 pm
SATURDAY | SÁBADO
4:00 pm (English) Xavier Center