Marriage and Family

The Family Life Office offers resources on everything from how to plan a Catholic wedding to parenting tips on children from birth to teen. We hope this information is helpful. For more information, please Contact Us.

Engaged Couples

Because marriage is lifelong, the Church wants to help couples build strong, lasting marriages. For this reason, couples seeking marriage in the Catholic Church are asked to spend several months in preparation. To learn more about the process, see the following:

• Marriage is Forever — Marriage policy and procedures for the Diocese of Little Rock
• Catholic Marriage Q&A — Answers most frequently asked questions from engaged couples
• Marriage Education Programs — Details Sponsor Couple, Pre-Cana Day and Convalidation Class and explains how to register for these programs
• Natural Family Planning — Methods of NFP and how to register for classes
• Six-Step Guide to Planning a Catholic Wedding — Tips and resources for engaged couples

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Married Couples

What have you done for your marriage today? The U.S. Catholic bishops asked this question when their Committee on Marriage and Family Life and Communications began its For Your Marriage campaign in 2007. On the local level, the Family Life Office offers the following programs to strengthen and restore marriages:

• Marriage Enrichment — Worldwide Marriage Encounter is a weekend for married couples to spend time together, away from the distractions and tensions of everyday life, and focus on each other and their relationship.
• Married Outside the Church? — Convalidation class is a marriage preparation program for couples married civilly (i.e., "outside the Catholic Church") who wish to have a valid marriage recognized by the Catholic Church.
• Natural Family Planning — Methods of NFP and how to register for classes