We know how to prepare people for marriage. We are far less good at teaching them what marriage actually is.

At the heart of the Catholic understanding of matrimony lies something quietly astonishing: the sacrament does not simply bless a human relationship — it transforms it, making it a living sign of Christ's love for the Church and an inexhaustible source of sanctifying grace. This is not a decorative theological gloss. It is the engine of Christian marriage - and it is almost never taught.

Maryvale Institute is launching a new Sacrament of Marriage course this September to change that. Drawing on the richest streams of the Church's theological tradition, it offers couples, priests, counsellors, those accompanying married couples, and couples themselves a serious theological formation in the grace of Christian marriage. 

The first welcome session takes place on 15 September 2026 at 18:00 UK time.

The course teacher is Dr Agata Mleczko, who has extensive knowledge of the topic and regularly advises the Bishops Conferences of Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary on the topic. 

Maryvale Marriage Course