Catholic Engaged Encounter is an international marriage preparation course approved by the Catholic Church worldwide. It is recognised in Singapore as part of the Catholic Family Life (CFL) programmes.

Catholic Engaged Encounter is for any couple who is discerning or planning to be married in the Catholic Church (at least one partner must be a Catholic/attending RCIA).

You may experience the weekend at any time during your courtship, but not after your church wedding day. However, you should try to experience the Catholic Engaged Encounter weekend as early as possible, perhaps even before you formally announce your engagement.

A presenting team of two married couples and a priest will give a series of talks about marriage and family life experiences, highlighting the essential for enjoying a life-long marriage. After you have heard from the team, you will have time to think about the subject and then you will discuss your thoughts with your partner. There are no formal lectures - rather, it is an experience - where you, as a couple, are involved in a period of self-discovery and mutual affirmation.

Yes. It is not a counselling course, neither are there formal lectures, nor is it based on group discussions. The weekend is designed for private discussion between a couple. You concentrate on your partner so much that you hardly notice the other couples present. The presentations are given to the group as a whole, but your couple discussions are private.

The weekend provides the atmosphere and the opportunity to seriously discuss your strengths and weaknesses, your goals, desires, and ambitions. You will also learn about each other's attitudes towards money, sex, children, and family, as well as your roles in the church and in society.

Any couple planning to be married in the Catholic Church may attend. At least one of the participating partner must be a Roman Catholic Baptised Catholic. The weekend is a Catholic experience and is Catholic in its theology of Marriage as a Sacrament of the Church.

Because he wishes what is best for you and your (future) marriage and is responsible for seeing to your preparation for marriage in the church. Actually, Catholics view the seven sacraments as a way of directing encountering Jesus. Only two of the seven are sacraments of service, directed towards salvation of others: Matrimony and Holy orders.

Most people understand that it takes years of preparation to become a priest. There is a lot of overlap in what the Catholic Church expects of a priest and matrimonial couple. Most people do not think it takes any preparation to be married. The reality is, it takes a lot to be married, even more to become a sacrament. The weekend helps to prepare you for that.

In-person weekend

Weekend Cost

The registration fee of the 2-day weekend in 2024, is $350 per couple (non refundable).Your place on the weekend will only be confirmed upon receipt of your payment with the completed registration information via the registration page on the CEE website. You will receive a confirmation email with your registration details once you have submitted the registration application and fees.

Location

The CEE Weekend will be held at  Marriage Preparation House, 201B Seventeeth Avenue, Punggol Singapore 829651.

*Note: As the weekend is conducted in-person, CEE reserves the right to decline anyone from the program if they are unwell during a weekend Mask wearing during a CEE weekend is optional. Nevertheless, everyone is encouraged to continue exercising responsibility and caution, such as wearing masks in crowded places, mask-up if feeling unwell or when interacting with vulnerable persons.

Please note that no replacement certificate will be issued. Only a letter to confirm attendance will be provided; and there is a $20 administrative fee for this letter.

There are other marriage programs such as Marriage Preparation Course which you can attend. Please visit their website: https://www.mpcsingapore.com/.

Please reach out to the priest who is marrying you to seek his advice.

No. Not being able to attend a CEE weekend does not impact your planned wedding in church. Please reach out to the priest who is marrying you for his advice on other options.

You can write to CEE SG to express your interest to be on the waitlist. The email address is: ceespore-pr@catholic.org.sg. There will be some slots on waitlist , once someone withdraws the slot will be released and you can register yourself. It is on a first come first serve basis.

There will be no refund of payment as CEE needs to secure logistics and manage financial matters in advance to facilitate the weekend.However, instead of a refund, you may modify your registration to select an alternative weekend date.Please note that when modifying your original registration, a $20 administrative fee will be deducted from the weekend registration fee before issuing a refund for the previously registered weekend.

No. Your CEE certificate does not expire, but it is issued specifically to the couple who completed the course and cannot be transferred.

Contact the priest marrying you as soon as possible. He will guide you on how best to proceed.

Both programs prepare couples for Catholic marriage. CEE offers an immersive weekend retreat, while MPC takes place over weekly sessions. Depending on your schedule and preferred approach, you may attend either one. Some couples choose to experience both.