Catholic Churches

ptorres549

My fiancee and I are new to the area and we're trying to find a Catholic church to join/get married at. We are currently living together, and I know that some Catholic Churches might frown upon that, or even refuse to marry us. Any suggestions? 

PJS001

What part of town are you living in or what part of town do you want to get married in?

Eboix518

When we talked to the Catholic priest near our house to start our pre-marital counseling sessions we had to take that FOCCUS test, is a few hundred questions - we just had to answer some extra questions regarding living together, that church, and the church we got married in didn ot have a problem with it (and we are also different religions - me Catholic he is Methodist)

We got married at Annunciation Catholic Church in downtown (you do not need to be a member to get married there) Most churches will probably require you to be a member for a certain length of time before booking your wedding there. I know St Annes, the cathedral, and St Micheal on sage are all like that.

Also check out Holy Rosary, and St Vincents in the med center

Not sure if you were looking for Houston or not, but those are my recs

lnhassel

I just booked my church last weekend. We are using St. Vincent de Paul and my fiance and I have lived together for almost 3 years. They didnt even ask if we were living together but we did have to fill out an information form where they asked for both of our addresses. The wedding coordinator reviewed it thouroughly and didnt even bring it up when we both had to list the same address. It is $600 for non members which includes a $150 refundable deposit if the church is left clean afterwards.

Belle101781

My H and I got married at St. Michael on Sage. They didn't ask us if we living together and didn't require us to be members of the church. We had to pay a little more for being non-members but it was worth it!

monkeysip

ptorres,

If you're just moving here, try and find a church that you like and feel comfortable at--a church you can see yourself becoming a member at.  I think then getting married there will be even more special.  Sometimes it may not be possible or preferable to get married at your home parish, but it's worth a try if you find one you like.

As PPs said, for many churches, the living-together thing may not be an issue.  Some priests, if they find out, may ask that you either move apart from each other until the wedding, or at least abstain from sex until the wedding.  

And if you tell us a general area of Houston, we could give you more churches to look into.

Good luck!

vpine

This church marries on Fridays, if you live together, etc. They just require you have sacraments done before ceremony date.

ALL SAINTS CATHOLIC CHURCH
215 E. 10th Street
Houston (The Heights), TX
77008

monkeysip

All Saints website says that they require one of the two to be a member of the parish (I don't know for how long before the wedding).

If you like that parish (it looks lovely), then that's an option.  Become a member.  If not, look elsewhere.

BTW, the Cathedral does allow you to marry there without being a member, but the fee is doubled.  It's expensive, but if you have the money its a great option.

hgoncalves

http://catholicswithoutachurch.org/
They have great reviews and Father Milton is doing my wedding in November.

medrek

I'll add my 2 cents.  I'm trying to finalize where have my ceremony ... we're not currently members at any Houston church either.

- Co-Cathedral will marry you if you're not a member, and they will supply a priest.  Fees are about $2500 for this, though.  They don't seem to care much about us living together.

- Annunciation will marry you without being a member, but you need to bring your own priest. (And it turns out that it can be kind of tricky to find a priest if you're not a member of a church elsewhere.)  When I talked to them on the phone they asked if I lived with my fiance, and were disapproving when I said I did ... but I don't think it's a dealbreaker.

- Holy Rosary will marry non-members, I think fees are right about the same as the Co-Cathedral though.  You also need to bring in your own priest.

- You need to be a member at St. Anne's to get married there.  The wedding lady won't even discuss availability unless you're a member.  From what I've heard, they book up years in advance.  Also, they won't let their priests perform weddings at other churches.  I think we'll become members here regardless because we live close by and their Pre-Cana is supposed to be great!

- We looked into Father Milton, but him and the Catholics without a Church organization is typically not allowed into Catholic churches to perform weddings.  The Annunciation said they were a "renegade" organization not accepted by the traditional Catholic community.  Father Milton seemed really nice, though!  If circumstances were different ...

ptorres549

Thanks, everybody! This definitely gives me more options to look at. We live in the Memorial/ Great Uptown area so St. Michaels and St. Cecelia's were the frontrunners. 

aggiesidetrack

We are marrying at St. John Vianney and they are great. we have lived together for 7 years and they haven't batted an eyelash at us whatsoever.