Congratulations on your engagement! Holy Cross Catholic Church is a beautiful, sacred, space for the occasion of your sacramental marriage. Here you can view some images of our church and appreciate the beauty of celebrating your wedding in the Lord’s presence. General steps to prepare for your wedding are outlined below.
1. Schedule a meeting with Father Kevin.
Email the parish office to schedule a time that works for both you and your partner at least 6 months prior to your desired wedding date. Please include the date you are hoping to celebrate your Marriage in the email. Father Kevin will get to know you as a couple, guide you through your next steps, and provide you with marriage prep resources.
Scheduling Email: secretary@holycrossphl.org
2. Register and Complete Pre-Cana Class
Catholic marriage prep classes take place both in person and online throughout the year . Find more information here.
3. Paperwork!
Please provide the Parish Office with the following:
- Recent copies of baptismal certificates. These should be mailed to Holy Cross by the parish you request them from.
- Witness Forms ( 2 for the bride and 2 for the groom). These will be provided for you during your meeting with Father Kevin. Mail or email completed witness forms to the parish office.
- Obtain your civil Marriage License. This will be signed by the priest after your Wedding Ceremony.
Please note individual cases vary (i.e. interfaith couples, couples being married by a Priest outside of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia) and additional paperwork may be requested
Mailing Address for Parish Office: 154 E Mt Airy Avenue Philadelphia PA 19119
4. Plan and Share Ceremony Details
Using “Together for Life” a resource that will be provided for you during your initial meeting with Father Kevin, you will choose the readings for your wedding and other particular details unique to your ceremony
5. Schedule Musicians, Cantors, Altar Servers, Florist, and Sacristan
Please coordinate ceremony details with the Parish Office. We can provide recommendations for musicians, altar servers, etc. Please note musicians and cantors will charge a fee for their service. It is also customary to bless altar servers and the Sacristan with a donation for their time.
6. Wedding Rehearsal
Please plan to rehearse before your wedding ceremony with all those who are part of your special day. ( Groomsmen, Bridesmaids, Lectors, Flower Girl, Ringer Bearer). A member of our parish will make sure everyone knows where to wait before the ceremony begins, where your personal items can be stored, where bathrooms are located, etc.
7. Donation
Holy Cross requests that a donation be made to the Parish for use of the Church. We are grateful for your financial support which helps us to maintain our building and keep our ministries active. We also welcome you to join in the full life of our Parish and community. Please contact the parish office to arrange your donation, thank you!
Teachings on Catholic Marriage
God who created all people out of love also calls us to love the fundamental and innate vocation of every human being. For we are created in the image and likeness of God who is himself love. The mutual love [which spouses bear for each other] becomes an image of the absolute and unfailing love with which God loves us. It is good, very good, in the Creator’s eyes. and this love which God blesses is intended to be fruitful and to be realized in the common work of watching over creation.
“God blessed them, and God said to them: ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it.’”
Holy Scripture affirms that man and woman were created for one another: “It is not good that the man should be alone.” The woman, “flesh of his flesh,” i.e., his counterpart, his equal, his nearest in all things, is given to him by God as a “helpmate”; she thus represents God from whom comes our help. “Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and cleaves to his wife, and they become one flesh.” The Lord himself shows that this signifies an unbreakable union of their two lives by recalling what the plan of the Creator had been “in the beginning”: “So they are no longer two, but one flesh.”
(Catechism of the Catholic Church, § 1604-1605)
The official diocesan policy for celebrating the Sacrament of Marriage is here.