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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 one or both people intending to be married in St. Joseph are coming from another parish/country, kindly contact the Parish Office as much in advance as possible to find out the necessary procedures. Frequently, the procedure can be more complicated depending on a variety of factors, including the country from which the person is residing. We suggest a minimum of 5 months ahead of time to account for any delays/missing documents.
Typically, those coming from another parish/country are asked to complete all the necessary marriage paperwork in the local Catholic church/parish of the place where they live. You may contact your local parish and ask what certificates, documents, etc. they require for you to complete the marriage paperwork. Their requirements will be similar (but not exactly same) to the list of Required Documents above. It will also involve at least one meeting (canonical interview, pre-nuptial inquiry) with the local priest. If you have any doubt as to what exactly is required, please contact our Parish Office.
Your local parish should then send the necessary certificates and other paperwork to their Chancery or Bishop's House, who will send it to the Vicariate Chancery (address below). The Vicariate Chancellor will review it and send it to St. Joseph parish with permission for the marriage to take place. It is also recommended that documents be couriered (with tracking) rather than posted to ensure they arrive on time, and that the sending diocese keep a scanned copy in case of any delay/loss.
Address to send documents:
To: The Chancellor, Bishop's House
St. Joseph Cathedral,
17th Street, Al Mushrif,
Abu Dhabi
United Arab Emirates
P.O. Box 54
+971-2-4458799
avosa.org
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.