Are you planning your Roman Catholic wedding and looking for a church? If you are from the Diocese of San Jose de Nueva Ecija, why not choose our very own Cathedral?

St. Joseph Cathedral is located at Maharlika Highway, corner San Jose-Lupao Road. Centrally located at San Jose City, it is easily accessible from all major event venues.

Here are the steps for getting wedded at St. Joseph Cathedral Parish:

1. Application

Requirements:

• Application form
• Marriage license
• Certificate of Baptism, with “For Marriage Purposes” annotation
• Certificate of Confirmation, with “For Marriage Purposes” annotation
• List of principal sponsors/ninong and ninang
• Donation (inclusive of basic set-up of carpet and chairs; does not include flowers)

Only the application form needs to be accomplished immediately. You may submit the rest of the requirements later.

2. Marriage Bans

Remember those movies and soaps when a character rushes to the church and shouts, “Itigil ang kasal!”? Well, it does not work that way. The wedding won’t be stopped just because a guest is in love with the groom.

For four Sundays, the home parishes of the spouses-to-be will announce (bans) the upcoming marriage. People with issues about the marriage are invited to come forward with their objections, and resolve these issues before pursuing with the wedding. This way, there are no disruptions during the conduct of the Sacrament.

Some of the reasons for objecting to the marriage are:

• One of the couple has obligations to someone else (in a civil union, with children)
• One of the couple may have legal obligations that could endanger the other
• One of the couple has taken a vow of celibacy
• One or both of them are underage
• One or both of them have been forced to wed

3. Holy Mass

Upon submission of your application form, Parish Office staff will give you another form for attendance to Holy Mass. You have to attend four (4) masses together and have the presiding priest sign the form.

You don’t have to attend masses at the Cathedral, though. You are allowed to go to other Roman Catholic churches for this purpose within the month.

4. Pre-Cana Seminar

The pre-Cana seminar normally spans two days during the weekend. Married couples will give a series of talks about Biblical marriage, roles of husband and wife, sex, family planning, etc.

5. Pre-Canonical Interview

This is a one-on-one interview with the parish priest or bishop. You and your will-be spouse will be interviewed separately, to assess your readiness for a Ramon Catholic family.

No need to fear, though. There is no Pass or Fail marks here. You will not be stopped from pursuing with the marriage even if you think you do not do well and your fiancé/fiancée will NOT know how you answered.

6. Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession)

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Additional tips:

• If one of the spouses-to-be is from another religion, they have no obligation to convert to Roman Catholic to be married. If I am not mistaken, in this case you have to ask special permission from the Bishop, with the intent to raise your future children in the faith.
• The staff will usually ask if you have a preference for the presiding priest.
• Priests from another parish or diocese are welcome to witness your marriage but it is your responsibility to invite and inform them. You also have to tell the office in advance if you have priests from another parish or diocese.
• The parish does not schedule marriages on Mondays.
• You may get married on a Sunday, but only at a time slot when there is no Mass. Also, you may not choose your readings on Sundays.

For inquiries, the Parish Office is open from Tuesday to Sunday, 8:30 am to 5:30 pm, with lunch break.

Congratulations!

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