Enrollment for this course is open until Saturday, 31 January, 2026. Please do not contact us trying to join the course after it is closed. If you miss the enrollment deadline, you will either have to find another course, or attend our course starting in February 2027, provided our next course is before your planned wedding date.
The Pastoral Centre for English-speakers is accepting applications for our Marriage Preparation Course in English in 2026.
The course will run on the following Saturdays, starting at 9:30AM:
- 7, 14 and 21 February (no class on 28 February)
- 7, 14 and 21 March.
The deadline to sign up is Saturday, 31 January, 2026.
If you are planning to get married after 31 March, 2026 and before 1 February 2027, this is the only chance to attend an English-language marriage preparation course through the Pastoral Centre for English-speakers in the Diocese of Wrocław.
If you know any English-speaking couples who are planning to get married in the Diocese of Wrocław, please tell them about this course, since often couples don’t think about attending a course until it’s too late to participate in our course.
Full information and the sign-up form can be found by following this link.
The cost of the course is 400 zloties per couple, payable at the first meeting by cash.
The course will be conducted entirely in English, by a native-speaker, using materials from the United States. Participants should be proficient in English, and at least one person must be a non-Polish-speaker.
Who Can Participate
Our Marriage Preparation Course is open to English-speaking couples who, for linguistic reasons, are unable to participate in a course in Polish (non-Polish-speakers or couples in which only one person speaks Polish and both speak English). All those who wish to attend should be proficient speakers of English, since the video presentations and course workbook are in English and the teacher is a native-speaker of English. This course is not appropriate for people who are unable to follow a lecture, enter into a discussion, answer questions or watch a film entirely in English without translations, interpreters or subtitles. You can watch a preview of the video part of the course here: Beloved – Trailer HD to be sure that you are comfortable with the level of English used and to get a sense of what the films are like.
This course prepares couples for the Sacrament of Matrimony in the Roman Catholic Church. Participating couples should be open to Church teaching about marriage and should have the desire to understand and live out the requirements of Catholic marriage, whether or not both participants are Catholic.
Course Requirements
Participants will be required to complete a pre-marital survey (questionnaire). The questionnaire is entirely confidential – read only by the priest – and is designed to help the couple discuss issues related to marriage, as well as helping the priest get a sense of particular areas of marriage preparation that each couple may need to work on or discuss in depth.
Participants will be provided with a course book. The book has readings and quizzes based on the topics in the course. During the week, between sessions, participants should read the assigned readings for the week, individually do any quizzes or answer any questions in the book, and then together discuss what they have read, their answers to the quizzes and the questions. The book is designed to inform the couple about important aspects of marriage and to spark discussion of these topics in the privacy of the couple’s relationship. A commitment to getting together during the week and discussing what you’re learning about marriage and about yourselves is a crucial part of the course, since the ability to talk about all aspects of life is key to a successful marriage.
The course itself consists of six meetings, held on Saturdays (be prepared to be present from 9:30-13:00, though we often end earlier than 13:00). Attendance at all meetings is required for couples to complete the course. Meetings will consist of video presentations and short talks before and after the films. There will be two presentations per meeting, with a break between the two presentations, when you can meet the other couples, chat to the priest or instructor, have a snack, etc. Each presentation takes about 90-120 minutes, so assume you’ll spend about 4-5 hours per week at each meeting. If you register for this course, please clear your schedule and do not plan any other events or activities during the scheduled hours for the sessions. Your willingness to take the course seriously and to commit to attending it is an indication to us of your seriousness about Catholic marriage.
Besides participation in the weekly meetings, participants will meet with the priest in charge of the course at least once and possibly more times as needed. These private meetings will be devoted to review of the pre-marital survey, and answering the questions and particular needs of each couple as they prepare for the Sacrament of Matrimony. If a couple will be married in our parish, this meeting may also include the necessary ‘protocol’ required by the Church. These meetings are arranged individually to suit the couples’ and the priest’s schedule. The priest normally attends as many sessions as he can, so it should be easy to speak to him and arrange meetings, to ask him questions or discuss any problems you are having.
After completing the course and having a meeting with the priest, the couple will be provided with a certificate of completion in Polish and English. The certificate outlines the content of the course and indicates the number of hours participants have spent in the course. Our course is very thorough and lasts longer than most courses available in Poland and other countries, so the certificate we give has been accepted by priests both within Poland and in various countries around the world.
A course in Natural Family Planning (NFP) is required by the Church, but not provided by the Pastoral Centre for English-speakers. We may be able to help you find an instructor who speaks English. For self-directed learners, the Couple-to-Couple League provides excellent and thorough online courses in Natural Family Planning. Their course results in a certificate which is accepted in the Catholic Church (previous participants in our course have chosen this option and their certificates have been accepted by priests in Poland and abroad). Couple-to-Couple League course offerings can be found here: https://ccli.org/ It is not necessary to wait until after you’ve completed the Marriage Preparation Course to start a course in Natural Family Planning. Indeed, it is recommended that women, especially, have this information well in advance of marriage (6 months or more), because the charting of their cycles often alerts women to health and fertility issues that they may want to address before getting married and attempting to start a family.
Interested? Register here!
While you fill in the registration form, you will be required to provide the following information:
- full names of the engaged man and woman (as they appear on your legal identification cards or passport);
- what country or countries you are from;
- what your native language or languages are;
- what religion each person is (at least one person should be Catholic);
- if you are Catholic, whether you have completed your sacraments of initiation (baptism, first communion and confirmation).
Also useful: Our text about the steps involved in organizing the Sacrament of Marriage in our parish.