Marriage Preparation Programs

Below is a listing of the approved Marriage preparation programs for use in the Archdiocese of Louisville. For special situations such as couples separated by distance or having unique time restrictions, please have your preparing priest or deacon contact the Family Ministries office at family@archlou.org for specialized options.

Foundations for Marriage

This one-day, 8 hour, archdiocesan program is designed for those entering a first marriage. Speakers address Church teachings regarding the sacramentality of marriage as well as additional topics designed to help the engaged couple better understand the fullness of the vocation of marriage and its joys, complexities and challenges.

The program begins at 9:00 AM on a given Saturday morning and ends late afternoon about 5:00 PM. A certificate of attendance is provided at the end of the day. Pre-registration for this program is required.

For additional information, click here.

Catholic Engaged Encounter

Catholic Engaged Encounter (CEE) is recognized, both nationally and internationally, as a quality, highly effective marriage preparation program designed to meet the needs of today’s engaged couples seeking marriage for the first time.

CEE is an in-depth, private, personal, marriage preparation experience within the context of Catholic faith and values. It is a weekend retreat offered at various local parishes in the Louisville area with other engaged couples with plenty of time alone together to dialogue honestly and intensively about their prospective lives together– their strengths and weaknesses, desires, ambitions, goals, their attitudes about money, sex, children, family, their role in the church and society–in a face to face way.

To sign up for any of their upcoming weekends, visit https://louisville.engagedencounter.com/reservations/ and select your desired date.

Companion (Sponsor) Couple

Engaged Couples:  This parish-based program offers a series of sessions with trained married couples, designed to supplement meetings with the parish priest/deacon. This program is designed for use with first marriages, but if trained couples are available, it can be used with couples in subsequent marriage situations as well. For further information about the program, click here.

Married Couples interested in becoming a Companion (Sponsor) Couple: Training sessions are normally offered in the spring and the fall of each year.

Current Sponsor Couples:  For downloadable forms used with your couples, click here.

For Couples Marrying Later In Life –Professionally Facilitated Prepare-Enrich Option

For couples who are marrying for the first time later in life, or who are seeking marriage after being widowed or receiving a decree of nullity, the Family Ministries Office recommends attending preparation sessions with counseling professionals certified in the Prepare-Enrich marriage inventory system.

Similar in approach to the FOCCUS pre-marital inventory, which most parishes in the Archdiocese of Louisville administer and review themselves, the Prepare-Enrich inventory has several different “modules” designed to delve more deeply in areas unique to couples marrying later in life. Issues such as adult children and grandchildren, financial and career concerns, blended-family dynamics and much more are discussed over several sessions, providing a customized approach relevant to each individual couple’s needs and situations.

Pastors, deacons or other marriage preparation personnel who feel that this may be the right options for one for their couples are encouraged to reach out to Karen Sheets Mobley, LCSW, LMFT at ksm@karen.sprucecare.com or contact Deacon Stephen Bowling at the Family and Life Ministries Office at sbowling@archlou.org.

For information on annulments, see Nullity Workshops and For Your Marriage

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