Marriage Catechumenate

Pope Francis has on multiple occasions called for the Church to embrace a marriage preparation model based on the baptismal catechumenate (i.e. the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults, or OCIA). In response, in 2022 the Vatican’s Dicastery of Laity, Family, and Life released Catechumenal Pathways for Married Life, which provides guidance for local churches to use to implement a marriage catechumenate. The Archdiocese of Dubuque is striving to apply this vision in order to offer more robust preparation and formation for marriage.

To aid parish leaders in implementing the marriage catechumenate model, the Marriage Formation Office (with the collaboration of many others) has developed a Framework for the Marriage Catechumenate, which has been approved by Archbishop Zinkula. This document provides guidance that is intended to supply a common vision and to set standard practices for marriage ministries in parishes throughout the archdiocese. The framework allows flexibility to determine local applications and to adapt to particular situations. This initiative provides an invitation and opportunity for parishes to review their marriage ministries in order to find areas for growth and to better align those ministries with the marriage catechumenate model as outlined in the Framework. The archdiocesan Marriage Formation Office will provide associated formation, resources, and consultation for pastoral leaders in order to assist with implementing that vision. Please contact Matt Selby for assistance.

Below you will find the Framework document (print copies are available upon request), a chart overviewing the marriage catechumenate process, a recording of a virtual session explaining the process, and the slides from that presentation.