Marriage Preparation
2025 Courses
“It is necessary to make preparatory programmes for the Sacrament of Marriage ever more effective, not only for human growth, but above all for the faith of the engaged couples. The fundamental objective of this encounter is to help engaged couples realise a progressive integration into the mystery of Christ, in the Church and with the Church.” (Pope Francis, Address to the Tribunal of the Roman Rota, 21 January 2017)
About CHC Marriage Preparation courses
Our courses meet the requirements for preparation for the Sacrament of Matrimony in the Catholic Church.
They have been specifically designed to offer couples a presentation of fundamental, underlying themes as well as of the Sacrament of Marriage itself, according to the theological vision of the Catholic Church. Intrinsic to this presentation is an emphasis on personal integrity and honest communication as a couple, founded on the primary relationship with God.
Our events take place at Theodore House, set on the stunning Stonyhurst estate in the Ribble Valley.
Our Director, Stefan Kaminski, and his wife, Eleonora, both have Licentiates from the John Paul II Institute for Studies in Marriage and Family Life, having dedicated their studies to the themes of human love and sexual complementarity. Stefan serves as Director of The Christian Heritage Centre, where he has been creating and delivering Catholic formation content for the last five years. Ella previously worked at the John Paul II Institute in Rome, before joining Stefan in Lancashire following their marriage. She currently teaches a dogmatic theology course on the Sacrament of Marriage at Oscott Seminary, and is engaged in the Veritas Amoris project. Together, they offer marriage preparation courses and ongoing formation for catechetists.
Weekend course (residential)
Friday 3rd - Sunday 5th January 2025
Our weekend course is a fantastic opportunity to engage more deeply, individually and as a couple, with the Catholic vision of marriage. Allowing a greater space and time to reflect, it will offer each couple much to consider in the lead up to and into their marriage.
The weekend is fully-catered, with a framework of prayer, input, discussion and exercises for couples to work on, creating a rich experience and meditation on the Sacrament of Matrimony.
The weekend is divided into four sessions. Each session is themed around an element of the marriage rite and builds on a foundational Scripture text:
Session 1 – “Freely and wholeheartedly”: Genesis 1 and the Nature of God
Session 2 – “To love as long as you both shall live”: Genesis 2 and the Male-Female Communion
Session 3 – “To accept children lovingly”: Genesis 3 and Human Sexuality
Session 4 – “I do take thee”: Ephesians 5 and the Sacramental Nature of Marriage
Please note:
- Participants are assigned a single, en-suite room each. Integral to the course is an independent and honest examination of oneself and one’s commitment before God, and the personal space that is required to enable this. By booking onto this course, participants agree to respect the condition of one person per room.
Cost
£220 per person / £440 per couple
If you are unable to pay the full cost, please contact [email protected] to discuss subsidies
Arrivals for 5pm on Friday
Departures from 4pm on Sunday
Venue & Getting to us:
If you are reliant on public transport, please consider traveling by train to Preston train station. From there, we aim to co-ordinate minicab shares or lifts amongst participants of any given event. If you require further advice or assistance, email us: [email protected]
Stefan and Ella Kaminski both have Licentiates from the John Paul II Institute for Studies in Marriage and Family Life, having dedicated their studies to the themes of human love and sexual complementarity. Stefan serves as Director of The Christian Heritage Centre, where he has been creating and delivering Catholic formation content for the last five years. Ella previously worked at the John Paul II Institute in Rome, before joining Stefan in Lancashire following their marriage. She currently teaches a dogmatic theology course on the Sacrament of Marriage at Oscott Seminary, and is engaged in the Veritas Amoris project. Together, they offer marriage preparation courses and ongoing formation for catechetists.
Our course welcomes both novices to the Prosopon technique and more experienced iconographers alike.
For years Nikita Andreyev apprenticed to his father, Vladislav Andreyev, complimenting this experience with postgraduate theological studies in Paris and the United States.
Father Michael Miners o.c.d.s was born in Blackburn in 1953. He read theology at St Johns College, Durham, becoming a Catholic there in 1974. He undertook postgraduate research in Durham and then at Keble College, Oxford, before joining Ushaw College Seminary. He was ordained as a priest of the Order of Discaled Carmelites in 1984. Fr Michael has worked in both parish ministry and in formation as a novice master and master of students. He edited the Spiritual Journal “Mount Carmel” for eight years, and has a long experience of preaching retreats and offering Spiritual Direction. After five years as Catholic Chaplain at Keele University (1993-1998) he became a priest of the Archdiocese of Birmingham. Fr Michael lectures in Ecumenism at Oscott College and was Chair of the Diocesan Ecumenism Commission.
Fr Dominic White is a priest of the Order of Preachers and Prior of Saint Dominic’s in North London. He is also Acting Director of Research at the Margaret Beaufort Institute of Theology in the Cambridge Theological Federation, and Research Fellow of the Kirby Laing Centre for Public Theology. Additionally he is founder of the Cosmos Dance Project and patron of the Eliot Smith Dance Company. Fr Dominic’s research interests include theology and the arts, sophiology (Wisdom theology), and the relationship between faith and culture.
Dr Joey Belleza is a philosopher and theologian, and CHC Assistant for Marketing & Communications. His research interests span the areas of Thomism, Franciscan studies, medieval mysticism, Church history, and sacramental-liturgical theology in general. His recent doctoral dissertation contrasted the poetics of Saint Thomas Aquinas with the poetics of the Franciscan friars Saint Bonaventure and Iacopone da Todi, viewed in light of their competing receptions of Neoplatonic metaphysics as formulated by the mysterious sixth century writer known as Dionysius the Areopagite.
Fr Emmanuel Mansford is originally from a small village in Bedfordshire. He joined the Franciscan of the Renewal in the Bronx, NY in 1998 and made his solemn vows in 2003. Ordained a priest in 2007, he lived for several years in the friary in the East End of London where he served as the local superior. In 2014 he became the vocation director for the friars and lived in New York City where he was involved in the friars apostolates of preaching the Gospel and serving the needy. He has a passion for preaching and people and loves to see God’s people encounter Him and come to life through the Gospel. He also enjoys playing and watching football and is a boyhood fan of Luton Town FC. He recently moved back to the UK to serve with the friars in their mission in Bradford.
Fr Roger Dawson SJ is a Jesuit priest, previously Director of St Beuno’s Jesuit Spirituality Centre. He is trained as a clinical psychologist and has a long experience as retreat and spiritual director. He is currently the Superior of the Jesuits in Scotland.
