About Us
About Us
Our Story
Catholic Engaged Encounter (CEE) is an international marriage preparation programme approved by the Catholic Church. The program is delivered over a weekend and it is a gift of time for you to be together - to communicate honestly about your plans to enter marriage.
CEE was established in Singapore in September 1982 and has since welcomed hundreds of couples annually.
CEE is for any couple who are discerning or preparing for their marriage in the Catholic Church.
Attending a weekend should be considered after discussion with your priest on your plans. From your discussion, your priest will advise you on the possible Pre-marriage preparation programmes to enrol in. CEE also welcomes couples with no marriage plans yet but would like to take the opportunity to understand each other better and grow their couple relationship. To participate in a weekend, one party in the couple must be Catholic.
Through the Years
In the early 1980s, a program 'Evenings for the Engaged' supplemented the original Marriage Preparation Course (MPC) that was delivered by the Archdiocese of Singapore in helping prepare couples for marriage. There was a need for a program that could cover the content over a weekend and thus, Catholic Engaged Encounter (CEE) was brought to Singapore from the USA. The concept of a 46-hour stay-in, couple focused retreat programme was new to Singapore at that time and the first weekend was delivered in September 1982 with 12 participating couples.
From the first weekend with just 12 couples, it has now grown to over 35 couples on each weekend over 14 weekends annually and CEE Singapore (CEE SG) has welcomed thousands of pre-married couples since 1982. CEE SG welcomes Catholic couples and couples where one partner is Catholic to attend the programme.
International Connections
The Catholic Engaged Encounter program is approved by the church and is presented in over 30 countries and 200 cities. The CEE certificate is accepted globally and couples can attend the program in Singapore and marry in another country. While Singapore is part of the International CEE community, she is part of the CEE East Asia grouping and is joined with Malaysia, Philippines, China and Hong Kong.
Our Board
Fr Ambrose Vaz was ordained in 1981. Apart from being a bibical scholar, his vocation has seen him serve the Archdiocese in a variety of capacities from being a Rector in the Seminary to Vicar-General, representing the Archbishop on many Boards and Organisations.
Being very passionate about family life matters and marriage counselling, has seen Fr Vaz's deep involvement in Catholic Engaged Encounter since its early days in 1980s, both as Spiritual Director and presenting priest.
Rev Fr Ambrose Vaz
Spiritual Director
We are Phillip & Eunice. We were married since 2007 and started serving in this wonderful love ministry in the same year. Serving together in CEE keeps us grounded as we are surrounded by like-minded couples who believe in marriage. We thank God for giving us the gift to serve him and the blessings and friendship we received over the years.
Besides serving in CEE, we serve at our parish and the Catholic Family Life. See you at one of the CEE weekends or activities.
God Bless
Phillip & Eunice Goh
National Coordinators
We are Alan and Marie, and we started volunteering as House-couple, Prayer couple in 2002 , the year we got married. Being part of the Catholic Engaged Encounter Singapore community has given us the opportunity to deepen our faith and strengthened our own marriage as we served other couples preparing for a married life.
We have been presenting as a couple for the program since 2006. Doing God's work and serving His people has brought immense joy and grace to our lives. Blessed with three children we hope to embody the same values of servant leadership within our family.
Alan & Marie D’nacio
Finance Coordinators
We’ve been married since 2012 and are blessed with three children. Our journey with Catholic Engaged Encounter (CEE) began in 2020, where we served as Prayer Letter and House Couple before joining the Presenting Team in 2024.
Deeply grateful for the love and friendship we’ve experienced within the CEE community, we are dedicated to supporting and serving couples as they prepare for marriage. We firmly believe that strong families are the cornerstone of a healthy and thriving society, and it is a privilege to be part of this mission. Rooted in Christ’s love, we are honoured to serve not only the participants but also the wider CEE community, walking alongside others in faith and love.
Mervyn & Ashley Loh
Weekend Operations Coordinators
We are Andrew and Christine and we began our service with the Catholic Engaged Encounter (CEE) after attending our weekend in March 2017, before we were married in 2018. CEE had such a profound impact on us that we felt called to serve as House Couples to facilitate the operations of the CEE programme from early on. Even though we had only been working for a few years, we realised that as our careers progressed, it might become increasingly challenging to find time to serve in ministry. We then decided to begin this journey together, dedicating our time to support the CEE community.
The CEE community has been a source of wisdom and support for us, allowing us to learn from couples at different stages in our married lives. We continue to serve because we believe strongly in the programme’s mission to equip young couples with the tools and skills necessary to build a solid foundation for a Christ-centered marriage.
Andrew & Christine Pang
Engagement Coordinators
Catholic Engaged Encounter (Singapore) is an Affiliate of Catholic Family Life.
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