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"The matrimonial covenant, by which a man and a woman establish between themselves a partnership of the whole of life, is by its nature ordered toward the good of the spouses and the procreation and education of offspring; this covenant between baptized persons has been raised by Christ the Lord to the dignity of a sacrament." (CCC 1601, see also Mathew 19:5-6, Mark 10:7-12,Ephesians 5:22-32, Malachi 2:13-16).
Our parish conducts Marriage Preparation Courses (MPC) regularly for couples who intend to get married. Click the link for information and requirements for Marriage Preparation Course/Seminar.
The following procedure applies only to couples who are resident in Abu Dhabi city and the surrounding areas that are served by St. Joseph Cathedral parish (Musaffah, Al Ain and Ruwais/Barakah are not included).
All others, kindly contact the Parish Office as early as possible to find out procedure/ requirements.
Recommended: begin the steps below at least 3-6 months ahead of the date of the wedding in order to finish all requirements comfortably and in good time.
If you have been staying in Abu Dhabi (St. Joseph parish), but your marriage will take place in another Catholic church, you will need some documents from St. Joseph Cathedral. The exact documents you will require will depend on where your marriage paperwork is being prepared.
If you have been resident in Abu Dhabi for some time, the Catholic church where you wish to get married may require that your Pre-Nuptial inquiry (canonical interview) and marriage paperwork be done at St. Joseph Cathedral in Abu Dhabi. In such cases, please follow Steps 1-4 of the Procedure for Marriage above.
Your marriage paperwork will be sent by St. Joseph Cathedral to the church where your marriage will take place. This has to be sent officially via the Chanceries/Bishop's House of each area.
Please consider the time needed to courier documents, etc. It is recommended to start the process 3-6 months ahead of your marriage date to make sure that the documents will arrive on time. Please note that as a rule we do NOT hand over documents to the couple/person to carry to the church of marriage.
In some cases, your Pre-Nuptial inquiry (canonical interview) and marriage paperwork may be done at another church even though you are currently staying in Abu Dhabi or were formerly living in Abu Dhabi. You may be asked to provide a "No Objection to Marry" certificate/letter from our parish. This certificate will state that you have not been married in the Catholic Church while living in Abu Dhabi (St. Joseph parish).
Please approach the Parish Office with a copy/scan of your recently-issued baptismal certificate in order for this "no objection" certificate/letter to be prepared.