Sacrament of Matrimony

St. Patrick Church will contain a significant amount of scaffolding from September, 2024 through May, 2025, as a part of our restoration project. There will be scaffolding and disruption of access during this time. We cannot guarantee the condition of the church for your wedding in this time period. Anyone applying to be married at St. Patrick’s must acknowledge and accept limited access, seating, and visibility.

We are so happy that you are inquiring about the marriage preparation program at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Portland, OR. This document will help guide you through the steps of our marriage preparation process and elucidate the program’s expectations.

At St. Patrick we believe, teach, and uphold what the Catholic Church believes, teaches and upholds concerning the sacrament of marriage. The Church teaches that marriage is a lifelong covenant between a man and a woman for the spiritual and material good of the couple, and for the generation and education of children.

All weddings conducted at Saint Patrick must be those which are in conformity with the teachings of the Catholic Church. For a couple to be married at Saint Patrick, one of two conditions must be met:

1. The bride or the groom is a registered, active, and regularly contributing member of Saint Patrick and has been so for at least three months prior to the commencement of their six-month marriage preparation period. To be an active member means attending Mass every Sunday, volunteering at some level, and demonstrating consistent support of the parish financially through tithing. 
   
   
2. When a couple is able to provide their own priest and the church calendar permits, consideration may be given to hosting a wedding for guests, or non-registered Catholic bridal parties. Non-registered guests must obtain a "letter of permission" from their own parish. Please note that there is an additional fee for non-registered bridal parties seeking to celebrate a wedding.