Community› Cultural Wedding Boards› Catholic Weddings
Catholic Weddings
New Discussion
Options

"Special" PreCana

marendasmarendas member
First Comment
in Catholic Weddings
I just registered for PreCana.  The Chicago diocese has something called Special PreCana.  They say it is recommended for couples if one or both are 30 or older, anyone who was previously married, couples with children, couples living together, or those civilly married for less than six months. They say that more emphasis is placed on the areas of married life to which more experienced couples can relate.My fiance and I are 25 and 26, respectively.  We have been together for almost 5 years. We bought a house together and have been living together for a little over a year.  We registered for the Special PreCana due to our cohabitation. Has anyone completed this version of PreCana?  If so, what did you think?
Report Reply to Post

Re: "Special" PreCana

  • Options
    Calypso1977Calypso1977 member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its First Answer Combo Breaker
    edited December 2011
    i have never heard of this. i'd be interested to hear abour your experience when you have completed it.
    Report Reply
  • Options
    bel138bel138 member
    First Anniversary First Comment
    edited December 2011
    We didn't have an option like that. And I would say 9/10 couples in our class were living together.
    Image and video hosting by TinyPic
    Report Reply
  • Options
    amarchamarch
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Never heard of it - but I'd like to hear how it goes!
    Report Reply
  • Options
    Gee-LoGee-Lo member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I took the pre-cana for couples that were living together. Honestly we were not looking forward to it becasue we thought we were going to be frowned upon becasue we lived together, but it was not at all like that. They tailored the classes to us and and it was actually quite informative and interesting. We looked at each subject through the eyes of a couple living together and also the differences if we had not been. We also talked about changes we thought our relationship might go through after we were marred. If you have any specific questions feel free to ask. BTW I don't think anyone in our class was 30 or older, I'd say average age was about 26. So don't think you're going to be the youngest of the group!
    Report Reply
  • Options
    marendasmarendas member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Thanks Gee-Lo! That's great to hear. I have to admit that I was afraid we would be reprimanded for living together. After hearing about your experience, I'm feeling much better. For $190, I really hope that we'll learn some useful relationship skills there.
    Report Reply
  • Options
    honeybee724honeybee724 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I will be attending it this weekend actually!  We chose it because we have been living together for 18 months.  I can let you know on Sunday what I thought of it.
    WHO DEY!
    Report Reply
  • Options
    Bethann414Bethann414
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    We had "special" pre-cana. I'm 39 and my fiance is 46, so they suggested since we were more "mature" that we may like this option better. We met with the deacon for about 2 hours. Ahead of time we completed an on line survey each on our own, and then when we met with the deacon we reviewed our responses together and our compatability. It was really great actually. We had 2 hours one on one with the deacon so it was personalized to us, as opposed to the other option of 2 Saturdays from 9 to 3 with many other people. It was a great option for us.
    Report Reply
  • Options
    ewennerewenner
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    My fiance and I completed our "Special Pre-Cana" here in Chicago just last week. It was very informative, and there was no "reprimanding" involved. In fact, the married couple who led our class were very down-to-earth and realistic about things such as living together, having children from previous relationships, etc. Overall, I have found the entire Archdiocese of Chicago to be much more in touch with current lifestyles and challenges than I ever would have expected. You have nothing to worry about! Best wishes to you!
    Report Reply
  • Options
    marendasmarendas member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Thanks ewenner! That makes me feel much better about this whole process. I'll let everyone know how my session goes!
    Report Reply
This discussion has been closed.
Choose Another Board
Search Boards