Marriage is a covenant by which a man and a woman establish between themselves a partnership for their whole life, and which of its very nature is ordered to the well-being of the spouses and to the procreation and upbringing of children.

It is a lifelong and faithful union. Between baptised persons, marriage is a Sacrament.

When a couple observes the correct formalities in getting married, they and everybody else have a right to presume that they are in fact married. Another way of stating this principle is that marriage enjoys the favour of the law. In other words, everyone has a right to assume that the couple are married unless it has been proven otherwise.

Between baptised persons, Marriage is a SacramentWhat is Marriage?