Required Documents

1.)   WEDDING AGREEMENT: To confirm your wedding date the agreement form and fee are to be returned to the Campus Ministry Office within three weeks of the date you receive the contract.  For use of the chapel we request a fee of $1,000.  This fee includes the services of a wedding sacristan at the rehearsal and wedding, as well as administrative fees.

Please make checks payable to Saint Joseph’s University.

The fee does not include a monetary gift to the priest preparing the couple and presiding at the wedding.  The customary range is $150-$250 and would be sent to the priest following the last meeting with the couple accompanied with a thank you note.

2.)   LETTER OF PERMISSION: According to Canon Law, the Sacrament of Marriage is to be celebrated in the parish of either the bride or groom.  Proper canonical permission is needed to the sacrament to be celebrated elsewhere.  This document presumes the pertinent information on the sacrament of Marriage in the Code of Canon Law and the Church’s inter-faith and ecumenical directives. 

3.)   BAPTISMAL CERTIFICATE: Catholic partners must obtain a NEWLY ISSUED Baptismal Certificate from the parish of their baptism.  This is NOT the original certificate or copy of that certificate, but a standard form the baptizing parish fills out for you.  The phrase “no notations” of marriage must appear on the document or a notation if appropriate.  This certificate must be requested and obtained from the church once you are within six months prior of your wedding date and not before.  It also indicates that parish records state you are free to marry.

If one party is not Catholic, they need only submit a photocopy of their original baptismal certificate.  These documents should be brought to your meeting with the priest who is doing your paperwork or mailed to the Wedding Coordinator.

4.)   PRE-NUPTIAL INVESTIGATION: Couples will complete this form with their presider, or with a consulting priest in the case that the presider is unavailable to do so.  

5.)   WITNESS TESTIMONY: Two testimonies affirming each person’s freedom to marry will be completed by the priest.  Each person is required to give the priest the names and phone numbers of two people who know you well (parents, siblings, friends).

6.)   MARRIAGE LICENSE: The license must be obtained from a Clerk of the Orphan’s Court in Pennsylvania (http://www.usmarriagelaws.com/search/united_states/pennsylvania/).   It is valid for 60 days.  The entire original Marriage License should be received by the Office of Campus Ministry THREE weeks prior to the wedding date.  It may be brought directly to the Office of Campus Ministry or sent by registered mail.

The wedding coordinator will ensure that the license is in the sacristy the day of the wedding for the priest to sign.  The couple will receive the original certificate and the duplicate will be sent to the courthouse of origin for recording.

There are some situations when other documents may be required.  The consulting priest will assist in this regard.