Preparing for Marriage

at or through St J ohn
Lloyd Catholic Church

Baptism Certificates and Letters of Freedom

Before a couple can be married in the Catholic Church, the clergyman administering the marriage must
receive reasonable proof that neither party is already married. The proof is only considered valid when
obtained six months or less before the date of the wedding. So, six months before your wedding date the
following documents should be sought, and as soon as all the documents are ready they must be
presented or sent to the clergyman administering your wedding:

For Catholics

Send a stamped, self-addressed envelope to the parish where you were baptised. Explain that you are getting
married shortly, and ask the parish to issue a baptism certificate.

ALSO, send a stamped, self-addressed envelope to each and every parish where you have lived for 6 months
or longer since your 16
th
birthday. Explain in a covering note the dates when you resided there and ask for a
Letter of Freedomto enable you to get married. If you do not know the identity or address of the parish(es)
you need to write to, please seek advice from the minister helping you prepare the paperwork.

For Non-Catholics

If you have ever been baptised (sometimes called christened), you will need to provide us with sight of
document attesting your baptism. It does not need to be recently issued. An original issued at the time of
baptism is acceptable; if this is no longer available, contact the church where the baptism took place.

ALSO, ask a person who has known you since the age of 16 e.g. a parent, brother/sister or close friend to
write a letter attesting that to the best of their knowledge you have NEVER BEEN MARRIED this form of
words is important. The letter must state:

Their current address;
The date of writing;
Their relationship to you;
That to their best of their knowledge you have NEVER BEEN MARRIED.

e.g. as follows:


99 Newport Road, CARDIFF. CF1 2XX
29
th
February 2012

I, Maggie Smith, the mother of John Smith, testify that to the best of my knowledge John has never
been married.
[Signed] Maggie Smith [Date in handwriting] 29/2/2008


If you are now having blessed in church a relationship in which you are already civilly married, then the
form of words is like this:

I, Maggie Smith, the mother of John Smith, testify that to the best of my knowledge John has never been
married prior to his civil wedding to Jane Davies on 24/12/2006.

Preparing for Marriage
at or through St J ohn
Lloyd Catholic Church

Data Protection Statement

As a natural part of preparing your wedding, you will be asked to provide personal
information for both civil and church records.

Contact information about your household will be held on the premises of St John
Lloyd Parish securely in paper and/or electronic form, and to the extent required
to make possible their work, this information will also be made available to parish
administration staff/volunteers and providers of local Catholic Marriage
Preparation courses.

Your wedding application form will be processed by St John Lloyd Parish. If the
venue of your Catholic wedding is outside John Lloyd Parish, the paperwork will
pass through the Chancery Office of the Archdiocese of Cardiff and of the Diocese
of the place of your wedding, before reaching the parish office of the parish where
your wedding takes place. The paperwork will also pass through the Chancery
Office of the Archdiocese of Cardiff if any formal dispensations are required. Any
of these offices may keep permanent copies of the documentation.

Basic contact information for your household will be maintained on the parish
database for 80 years, or until you notify us that you have moved out of the
parish or no longer wish to be involved with the parish. Such contact information
may be used to invite you to parish events from time to time, and to allow parish
staff or parish volunteers to make a pastoral visit to your home.

Once your wedding has taken place, that fact and the names of the witnesses will
be recorded in a permanent register at the parish of the wedding (or, if you have
received a dispensation to be married in a non-Catholic church, in the Marriage
Register at St John Lloyd). The baptism register of the Catholic partner(s) held at
your church of baptism will also be annotated to record the fact of your marriage.

You have the right to request a copy of the information held by the parish about
yourself, and to challenge and correct any inaccuracies.

Since religious affiliation is sensitive data under UK law, your explicit consent is
required to hold this data. On the marriage application form, there is a box in
which you must explicitly give consent to your data being handled in the way
described above. This letter is for you to keep as a record of the consent which
you have given by signing the marriage application form.


A parish of the Archdiocese of Cardiff registered charity in England & Wales No. 242380.