Marriage is a “covenant or partnership of life between a man and woman, which is ordered to the well-being of the spouses and to the procreation and upbringing of children. When validly contracted between two baptized people, marriage is a sacrament” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, #1601).

Unlike the other sacraments which are all administered by a bishop, priest, or deacon, the Sacrament of Matrimony is administered by the husband and wife to each other; the priest or deacon is the Church’s witness who blesses the union created by the exchange of consent. The marriage bond, created only by those who are truly free by God’s law to marry, is an irrevocable covenant which binds the spouses to each other for life, and the Sacrament of Matrimony conveys the special grace necessary to strengthen them for lifelong fidelity and growth in holiness.

Christ dwells with the spouses and gives them the grace to take up their crosses daily, to rise again after they fall, to forgive one another, to bear each other’s burdens, to be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ, and to love one another with supernatural, tender, and fruitful love.

Holy Matrimony at St. Clement
 
Engaged couples must call one of the priests at (314) 965-0709 at least nine months in advance to schedule a wedding.