Spend a weekend away from the cares and distractions of everyday living.  Attend a Catholic Engaged Encounter Weekend.  It is open to any engaged couple wanting to prepare for a deeper more meaningful life together in a Sacramental Marriage.

Each retreat is a presentation formatted structure which contains five interrelated themes:

1. The Family we grew up in
2. Sacramental Marriage
3. Communication
4. Intimacy - more than just sex
5. Values

The themes are woven into several talks, focused not on the wedding day, but about a married couple living their life together. “A Wedding is a Day, A Marriage is a Lifetime”. In helping couples prepare for a great marriage, they need great tools. The most important tool they will need is the ability to communicate effectively and openly – one of the focuses of the retreat.

The talks are presented by a priest and married couples in a group setting. The engaged couples are then given “couple time” to focus on each other, writing after each talk, sharing their writings with each other, and discussing their thoughts and feelings with each other in a safe and loving setting. Couples are never required to share with the group.

For more information on Catholic Engaged Encounter retreats, visit their website by clicking this link: St. Paul and Minneapolis Catholic Engaged Encounter

*Note — if you are being married in the Catholic Church, this weekend fulfills the Church’s requirement that you attend a marriage preparation retreat. 

The Church of St. Patrick is honored to support Catholic Engaged Encounter, an independent marriage preparation ministry, by providing resources for its programs and events that help couples build strong, faith-filled marriages.