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  • For Engaged Couples
    We're very excited that you've decided to receive the Sacrament of Marriage in the Catholic Church! To help you prepare for this lifetime commitment, we've
     provided some materials for you to review under the guidance of the deacon or priest who will be walking with you on your Marriage Preparation journey!
    • Marriage is a sacred calling, about God and serving God’s purposes. It's a vocation just as the priesthood of a priest is a vocation. Marriage is a covenant relationship wherein a man and a woman establish themselves in a partnership for life. God is present in this relationship to bless, assist and guide you.

      This relationship is ordered for the good of the spouses and the procreation and education of children. Through Matrimony, God raises up the “Domestic Church” where faith is planted in the hearts of children and radiated to the surrounding world.





    •  
  • You're Engaged? Now What?

    • 1. Where Am I getting Married?
      • Do you know what Parish you want to get married at?

        NO?

        Parish Finder

        YES?
        What Deanery is this Parish a part of?

        Central Coast Deanery
        St. Ann Parish, Lizana and Our Lady of Chartres
        St. James Parish, Gulfport
        St. John the Evangelist, Gulfport
        St. Joseph Parish, Gulfport
        St. Therese of Lisieux Parish, Gulfport
        St. Thomas the Apostle, Long Beach

        East Central Coast Deanery
        Blessed Francis Seelos and Our Mother of Sorrows Parishes, Biloxi
        Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Cathedral, Biloxi
        Our Lady of Fatima, Biloxi
        Sacred Heart, D'Iberville
        St. Mary Parish, Woolmarket
        St. Michael Parish, Biloxi
        Vietnamese Martyrs,  Biloxi
        East Coast Deanery
        Holy Spirit Parish, Vancleave and Christ the King Mission, Latimer
        Our Lady of Victories, Pascagoula
        Sacred Heart, Pascagoula
        St. Alphonsus, Ocean Springs
        St. Elizabeth Seton, Ocean Springs
        St. Joseph the Worker, Moss Point
        St. Ann Mission, Hurley
        St. Mary Parish, Gautier
        St. Peter the Apostle Parish, Pascagoula

        Northern Deanery
        Holy Rosary, Hattiesburg
        Holy Trinity Parish, Columbia and St. Paul the Apostle Mission, Tylertown
        Immaculate Conception Parish, Laurel
        St. Bernadette, Waynesboro and Holy Trinity, Leakesville
        Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish, Lumberton and St. Joseph Mission, Poplarville
        Sacred Heart, Hattiesburg
        St. Fabian, Hattiesburg
        St. Francis Xavier, Wiggins
        St. Lucy, Lucedale
        St. Peter Parish, Bassfield and St. Lawrence Mission, Monticello
        St. Thomas Aquinas Parish, Hattiesburg
        West Coast Deanery
        Annunciation Parish, Kiln
        Holy Family, Pass Christian
        Most Holy Trinity, Pass Christian
        Our Lady of the Gulf, Bay St. Louis
        Our Mother of Mercy, Pass Christian
        Sacred Heart, Dedeaux
        St. Ann, Bay St. Louis
        St. Charles Borromeo, Picayune
        St. Clare, Waveland
        St. Matthew the Apostle Parish, White Cypress
        St. Rose de Lima, Bay St. Louis
        Military
        Our Lady of the Rosary, Keesler Air Force Base, Biloxi
        St. Joseph the Worker, Seabee Base, Gulfport
    • 2. Who should I contact?
      • 1.   Contact the office of the parish, in which, you wish to get married OR one of our Marriage Preparation Directors
        •     Choose the Marriage Prep Director to contact based on your Parish's deanery   
          •    Don't know where to get married? Check out "Where Am I Getting Married?" to find a parish near you.
          •    Don't know what deanery your parish is in? Check out "Where am I Getting Married?"
        ​​​​​​​​​​​
        2.    Set up a meeting with the Marriage Coordinator of this parish 
        • This may be with the Priest of the parish, a Deacon, or a lay person.  The Office or Marriage Prep Director will help you get in contact with the right person

        ​​​​​​​3.   Decide on who your Couple Sponser will be and set up meeting times with your Sponser for Marriage Prep!

         
        Marriage Preparation Directors
        (Check out "Where am I getting Married" to find your Deanery)
         
        Deacon Norm Cantrelle Deacon Jerry Dubuisson
           
        ncantrelle@biloxidiocese.org jdubuisson@biloxidiocese.org
        Northern
        West Coast

        Central Coast
        East Coast
        East Central Coast


         
    • 3. What do I need to know about Marriage prep?
      •   Couples Guide
         

        Why Prepare:  The marriage formation process is to assure that you are free to marry, have the capacity to marry and the right intention to marry.  Further the formation process provides assistance in your final months of discernment of the sacramental bond where you will promise to be faithful “for better or for worse” and to love and honor each other every day of your life.

        What to Expect during Marriage Formation:  “Immediate Preparation” for marriage should begin six to nine months ahead of the anticipated date of your wedding.  The process begins with an initial meeting/s with a Priest or Deacon, followed by four educational steps and concludes with a final meeting with the Priest or Deacon just prior to the ceremony.  These pastoral and educational steps are listed and described below.
         

        1. Initial Meeting/s with Priest or Deacon and Prenuptial Investigation
          • Check out "Where Am I Getting Married?" and "Who do I Contact?" to find what Priest/Deacon to Contact
        2. Educational Components
          1. Completion of the Premarital Inventory Assessment
          2. Education in Natural Family Planning
          3. Participation in a Sponsor Couple Program 
          4. Participation in a Premarital Retreat or Workshop
        3. Final Meeting with Priest or Deacon

        Our   Couples Guide shows you the steps that you will take during Marriage Prep in more detail. 
         
        Learn More about Marriage Prep Below!
    • 4. What retreats are available for Engaged Couples?


      •   Learn More      Locations

        Catholic Engaged Encounter offers Premarital Retreats all over the United States. 
        Check out locations, to find a Retreat with dates that work for you and your future spouse.
         

  • All About Marriage Prep

    • Initial Meeting/ Inventory
    • Couple Sponsor Programs
    • NFP
    Initial Meeting/ Inventory
    • Meeting with Your Parish's Marriage Coordinator 

            This could be a Deacon, lay Person, or the Priest at your parish.   Most Parishes use FOCCUS for this meeting. Find out more about the the initial inventory of your marriage in the couples guide

      Couples Guide 

      This is also the time to set up your couple sponser and find out what couple sponser program will work best for you and your future spouse. 

    Couple Sponsor Programs
    • Couple Sponsor Program Options

      For Better & For Ever, A Resource for Couples Preparing for Christian Marriage.
      In using For Better & For Ever, sponsor couples are trained to meet the engaged “where they are” as the starting point for dialogue about the vocation of Matrimony. Used by most parishes in the Diocese.

      Better Together.
      Better Together is a video-based sponsor couple program consisting of 12 components administered in 6 sessions.

      Beloved, Finding Happiness in Marriage.
      Run by Augustine Institute. Currently 2 parishes use Beloved; St Alphonsus, Ocean Springs and Sacred Heart, Pascagoula.

      Unveiled: Marriage Prep Anytime, Anywhere.
      The preferred online/ DVD Sponsor Couple Program for the Diocese of Biloxi when an engaged couple is separated by distance is Unveiled: Marriage Prep Anytime, Anywhere



       More About Couple Sponsor Programs

    NFP
    • Natural Family Planning (NFP)

      The Catholic Church supports the methods of Natural Family Planning (NFP) because they respect God's design for married love. In fact, NFP represents the only authentic approach to family planning available to husbands and wives because these methods can be used to both attempt or avoid pregnancy. When learning about NFP, it is important to know that: 

      Natural Family Planning is an umbrella term for certain methods used to achieve and avoid conception. These methods are based on the observation of the naturally occurring signs and symptoms of the fertile and infertile phases of a woman's menstrual cycle. Some natural methods include use of fertility monitors to better understand the time of the wife's fertility. Married couples using NFP to postpone conception abstain from intercourse and genital contact during the fertile phase of the wife's cycle. No drugs, devices, or surgical procedures are used to avoid pregnancy. Married couples who use NFP to attempt a pregnancy, make use of the fertile window--the optimum time when conception is likely.

      Learn More

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