Pre-Cana


Pre-Cana is a course or consultation for couples preparing to be married in a Catholic church. The name is derived from John 2:1–12, the Wedding at Cana in Galilee, where Jesus performed the miracle of turning water into wine.

Description

The purpose of marriage preparation, Pre-Cana, under canon law is to make sure that people are free to marry and have the capacity to marry. Approaches to Pre-Cana vary among Catholic dioceses and parishes. Often six-month sessions are led by a priest or deacon with support from a married Catholic couple.
All US Dioceses require couples to spend a significant amount time preparing for marriage. Most dioceses require an initial face to face meeting with their parish deacon or priest at least 6 months prior to the wedding. With a growing trend to ask couples to complete their preparation at least 6 weeks prior to their wedding.
These courses are designed to prepare couples with a better understanding of each other and of the sacrament of marriage. These courses can have multiple different forms ranging from weekend retreats to getting matched with a sponsor couple for meetings. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops recognizes that long distance preparation is sometime necessary due to military service or otherwise. In these instances the Military or College Chaplains can often provide independent preparation but the presiding minister needs to coordinate the process.
During this preparation phase, The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops considers the following topics as "must-have conversations" before couples marry:
Other topics that may be covered by Pre-Cana include:
Cana Conferences, which would go on to become Pre-Cana courses in the 1970s, began in the 1940s "to combat secularism's largest threat–its attack on the Christian family." Cana Conferences differed from Retreats and Days of Recollection as Cana Conferences focused on the growth of husband and wife together towards God, as opposed to retreats which were often segregated by sex. These conferences however, were not limited only to Catholics as Father Edward Dowling is noted to have hosted conferences where Protestant and Jewish couples attended.