Q. Who may be married at Old St. Mary’s?
A. The common practice for marriages in the Catholic Church is that the wedding should take place in either
the parish of the bride or of the groom. If either you or your fiance lives within the boundaries of Old St. Mary’s
parish (from the Chicago river to the north and west, 18th Street to the south, and Lake Michigan to the east), or
if one or the other of you lives outside the parish boundaries, but is a registered parishioner and regularly
attends Mass here, then the wedding can take place here.
Q. What if neither of us belongs to Old St. Mary’s parish?
A. Unfortunately we are not able to accommodate requests for weddings to take place at Old St. Mary Church if
you are not a parishioner and resident of the South Loop.
Q. What if I don’t have a parish? I’m not registered anywhere and don’t go to any one particular church.
A. Every Catholic has a parish by virtue of one’s residence, and that parish has responsibility toward all who
live within its boundaries. Wherever you or your fiance live, you live within the territorial bounds of a parish. It is
usually the Catholic church closest to where you live.
Q. How soon must plans be made for our wedding?
A. Following the marriage guidelines of the Archdiocese of Chicago, arrangements for your wedding should be
made at least four months in advance. This is necessary to allow sufficient time to complete
pre-marriage requirements and to take care of the details of planning the marriage ceremony.
Q. What sort of liturgy should be planned?
A. Generally, if both parties are active Catholics, marriage should be celebrated during Mass. Receiving Holy
Communion expresses more deeply the unity of the couple. In weddings where the two parties are of different
faiths, or where large numbers of expected guests are not Catholic, we encourage use of the Rite for
Celebrating Marriage Outside Mass (i.e., without communion).
Q. What type of readings should be used and whom should we ask to read?
A. A broad selection of readings from scripture which you may find appropriate for your celebration can be
found in the Together for Life workbook which your presider will provide you. When selecting readers for your
ceremony, we ask that you choose those who have been trained with the church as lectors, or who would
otherwise be competent and comfortable proclaiming the Holy Scriptures.
