If you plan to marry in the Catholic Church, you must be doing your preparation work with a priest, deacon or qualified representative.

If your wedding is to be celebrated out of state, then your marriage file must be completed by the local priest or deacon and sent to the local Tribunal who will send it to the Tribunal in the diocese where you will be married. Please allow sufficient time for this transaction.

If your intended spouse is of a different religion, then you must complete a dispensation to be submitted by the priest and granted by the local Tribunal. Please allow sufficient time for this process, especially if your wedding is out of state.

If one of the parties preparing for marriage has been married before, this marriage must be reconciled before a new marriage can be contracted in the Catholic Church. This applies to both civil and church weddings, for Catholics and non-Catholics alike. Please make this fact known to the priest working with you at your first meeting.

To begin the marriage preparation process at Our Lady of Perpetual Help, please call 480-947-4331 and ask to speak with the priest or deacon of your choice. He will make an appointment to meet with you and begin the preparation process.

When planning to marry, we ask you to consider that, for better and for worse, you are taking a spouse whose values, attitudes, and modes of behavior have been formed, to a great extent, by his or her family.

When Families Marry is a marriage preparation program designed to enable you to review the decision you have made about your life together. This is a six-week program, usually held one evening a week, and lead by facilitator couples who are parishioners of O.L.P.H.

Each two hour session covers the following topics:

I. Getting To Know One Another – The Family Tree. Discussed will be Priorities, Planning, and Finances.

II. Communication - Attitudes, Values, Listening and Conflict Resolution.

III. Judgments, Fears and Expectations Obstacles and Helps to a Happy Marriage.

IV. Human Sexuality - Intimacy and Sex. Going Beyond Misperceptions.

V. Spirituality - Where Love Is, God Is. Inter-faith Marriages.

VI. Family and / or Elder Care.

There is no fee for this preparation program, provided you are a registered parishioner and are currently preparing for marriage with one of the O.L.P.H. priests or our deacon. To enroll, please contact Theresa at 480-874-3710.

Other marriage preparation programs in the Phoenix Diocese are:

The Franciscan Renewal Center

5802 E. Lincoln Drive

Scottsdale, Arizona.

To obtain dates, times, fees or to enroll, please call 480-948-7460

Marriage Seminar for Engaged Couples

Presented by Richard A. Bergkessel

To obtain dates, times, fees or to enroll, please call 480-839-9524

Engagement Experience, Diocese of Phoenix Or

Remarrying Couples Seminar (Recommended when one or both parties have been married previously)

Diocese of Phoenix

Held in various valley locations. To obtain dates, times, fees or to enroll, please call 602-354-2356.

All preparing couples must take the Introductory / Overview of Natural Family Planning. To access the NFP schedule of classes, please click here to enter their website.