Supporting Marriage and Family
Marriage and family are gifts from God, where love, faith and life are deeply shared. The Archdiocese of Atlanta provides support for marriages and families – offering resources, encouragement and community as you grow together in relationship with Christ.
For questions regarding any of these programs, please contact:
Catholic Marriage Preparation
The Catholic Church strives to provide sufficient preparation for individuals entering marriage, an important life-long vocational sacrament. Before the wedding, couples are encouraged to complete the four steps for a comprehensive marriage preparation process:
- Meet with a clergyman regarding important steps and documents.
Schedule an initial meeting with your priest, deacon or marriage preparation minister at your local parish 8-12 months in advance of your desired wedding date. Please schedule this appointment before booking a reception site. During this meeting, documents and other requirements of the pastor for marriage preparation will be discussed.
- Attend a marriage preparation program.
The marriage preparation you choose to attend must be approved by your parish priest. Please see the following suggested programs.
Archdiocesan Marriage Prep Programs include Life Skills for Couples, Love Again (for remarriage) and Marriage as Sacrament. These workshops are held on various Saturdays at the Chancery. Learn more and register.
Witness to Love is a sponsor couple marriage prep program in the Marriage Catechumenate model. Learn more and register.
Catholic Marriage Prep Online is the only one-on-one, interactive, mentor-led, on-demand, online pre-cana program. Anchored in the Theology of the Body by St. Pope John Paul II, it is a great resource for marriage preparation or to improve your marriage. Visit the website to learn more.
Three to Get Married is a weekend experience for seriously dating, engaged couples or married couples offered under the direction of the Legionaries of Christ. The program looks at the sacramental, spiritual and practical aspects of married life. Visit the website to learn more.
Building Your Marriage Before It Starts is a one-day workshop that teaches couples how best to communicate, discuss and manage finances, implement consistent parenting styles and integrate their faith in everyday decisions. This workshop is available at Holy Spirit Catholic Church. Visit the website for workshop dates and more information.
Fall In Love, Stay in Love is a marriage program offered at St. Thomas More Catholic Church. It is a 4-week program offered three times per year for any couple preparing for marriage. Preparation includes presentations by married couples, couple exercises and weekly evening sessions. For more information, contact Andy and Sarah Otto at aotto@stmga.org.
- Complete one kind of marriage preparation inventory.
Premarital inventories are a compilation of questions that an engaged couple takes separately to obtain an objective assessment of potential problems and issues in their relationship. Many options are available on the USCCB website.
The most common ones used in the Archdiocese of Atlanta have been Prepare and Enrich and FOCCUS. Prepare and Enrich training is offered once a year and FOCCUS training is online. Please contact Patrick Metts for more information.
- Learn one method of Natural Family Planning.
Learning a method of Natural Family Planning is indispensable for Catholic married couples to handle their fertility in a harmonious and holy way and avoid the spiritual and physical harm of contraception or other reproductive technologies not in line with Catholic teaching. Visit the Natural Family Planning section for more information.
NOTE: If your wedding will take place outside the Archdiocese of Atlanta, you are still required to work with a parish within the archdiocese. A priest from our archdiocese will collaborate with your priest in the other diocese to ensure all marriage preparation requirements are met in both locations.
Marriage Enrichment
Mentoring Engaged Couples
The Archdiocese of Atlanta is always looking for faithful married couples to present during sessions of the Joy Filled Marriage workshops. Commitment levels vary. A small stipend is available. If interested, please contact Julian Saviano at jsaviano@archatl.com.
Parish Sponsored Events
The following parishes and schools offer marriage enrichment events throughout the year:
- Holy Trinity Catholic Church, Peachtree City: Contact Rebecca Capezzuto at 678-478-4222 or rcapezzuto@holytrinityptc.org.
- Pinecrest Academy, Cumming: Contact Natalia Calderon at 404-783-3055
- St. Brendan the Navigator Catholic Church, Cumming: offers two programs, Three to Get Married and Together Forever. Email promise@togetherforeveratl.com.
- St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church, Kennesaw: contact Luisa Price at luisap@stcatherinecc.org.
Online Programs
Building a Eucharistic Marriage is a 7-part online video series that connects seven areas for therapeutically strengthening your marriage with seven areas of deepening your relationship with Christ through the Eucharist. Couples can purchase an individual copy for home use.
Discovering Our Deepest Desire is a curriculum designed for all couples, from those with strong marriages to those who are struggling. Designed by therapist Greg Schutte, LISW-S, it is infused with Scripture, catechism, marriage enrichment skills and concepts from the Theology of the Body. The curriculum can be presented over 12 sessions, 7 sessions or an extended weekend.
National Offerings
National Marriage Week USA, held February 7-14 of every year, is a collaborative campaign to strengthen individual marriages, reduce the divorce rate and build a stronger marriage culture that helps to curtail poverty and benefits children.
Georgia-Tennessee Worldwide Marriage Encounter offers a weekend experience for married couples who want to recapture the closeness of their young relationships. Couples learn new ways to communicate that bring new life to their relationship, their family and to their church. Contact Worldwide Marriage Encounter website to apply for a weekend in English (678-242-9963) or Spanish (916-538-8167).
Natural Family Planning
The call to marriage is the call for a man and a woman to join in permanent, faithful and fruitful union of life-giving love. This is why in the vocation of Holy Matrimony, the good of the spouses and the procreation and education of children are inextricably linked.
Within this understanding of God’s plan for marriage, Natural Family Planning (NFP) is the general term used for married couples to continuously discern God’s call for them to be fruitful and multiply. In learning a method of NFP, you gain knowledge of a woman’s menstrual cycle. That knowledge can be used to help a couple achieve a pregnancy, or avoid one, after prayerful discernment.
Please review information on local NFP instructors and contact them for more information. Additional resources are also available on the USCCB website.
Miscarriage and Post-Abortion Healing
For couples needing support after miscarriages and abortions, please visit Respect Life Ministry for resources
Resources from Respect Life MinistryParenting and Family Enrichment
Family Faith Formation programs empower families, together, to deepen their relationship with God, live and learn their faith, share faith stories and strengthen their relationships within their families. Various formation models are available.
Families Forming Disciples from the Archdiocese of Atlanta is a hybrid, family-focused, thematic-activity approach where groups of families meet with catechists (in person or virtually) to encounter the Lord together and to encourage each other to live as the domestic church in and through their home and family life.
The Office of Evangelization and Discipleship offers this approach to assist parish catechetical leaders, catechists and parents/families with engaging families in renewed ways, to advance family evangelization and faith formation.
Contact your parish or find a Catholic church to learn more about the family faith formation program near you.
For questions about Families Forming Disciples, contact Patrice Spirou, lead for Family Catechesis and Curriculum, at pspirou@archatl.com.
Additional Resources
Family Formation Resources for Parents and Godparents
February 20, 2026
Family Honor promotes a family-centered Catholic approach to chastity education. It equips parents with tools to have ongoing conversations with their children and important moral and spiritual issues, thus aiding both parents and children in living a happy, healthy and holy life. Contact them for more information at (803) 929-0858.
Familia is designed for parents of young children. Programs are designed in multiyear, small group discussion formats that illuminate the teachings of the Gospel, the Catechism of the Catholic Church and relevant church documents. Contact Enrique and Magally Perez, Familia of Atlanta directors, at enrique_magally.perez@comcast.net.
Casa Maria, the convent and retreat house of the Sister Servants of the Eternal World, offers an array of family-enriching retreats on a regular basis. The sisters offer retreat topics such as Christian marriage, men, women and mother-daughter relationships. Located in Birmingham, Alabama, it is approximately 2.5 hours from Atlanta.
Saint Mary’s Guesthouses provide peaceful lodging choices near the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Hanceville, Alabama. All retreats are within a comfortable walking distance from the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament at Our Lady of the Angels Monastery.
Catholic Familyland, offered by the Apostolate for Family Consecration is dedicated to helping your family rest, recreate and ripen in faith. Offerings include Catholic family vacations, youth and young adult retreats and family consecration.
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