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Matrimony

Matrimony

“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.”

Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1601

Matrimony – Weddings at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church

Celebrating the sacrament of marriage is an important and memorable occasion.  The beauty of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church only enhances the celebration.  While priority in scheduling and pre-marriage preparation is given to our registered parishioners, Catholics who are not parishioners are welcome to celebrate their wedding at OLPH.  Many of the weddings at OLPH are for Catholics whose families have historic and multi-generational ties to OLPH. Other non-parishioners choose OLPH for the beauty of its traditional setting.

Please call Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church at (813) 248-5701 at least six (6) months prior to a hoped-for wedding date.

Candidates for marriage are required to attend a Pre-Cana Day, sponsored by the diocese of St. Petersburg, after meeting with the pastor of OLPH. Couples from outside the parish wishing to be married at our lovely church must meet with the pastor of OLPH.

“Holy Scripture affirms that man and woman were created for one another: ‘It is not good that the man should be alone.’ The woman, “flesh of his flesh,” his equal, his nearest in all things, is given to him by God as a “helpmate”; she thus represents God from whom comes our help. ‘Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and cleaves to his wife, and they become one flesh.’ The Lord himself shows that this signifies an unbreakable union of their two lives by recalling what the plan of the Creator had been “in the beginning”: “So they are no longer two, but one flesh.”

Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1605