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Wedding at Santa SusannaWeddings at Santa Susanna

Many Catholics are interested in being married in the city of Rome at the Church of Santa Susanna or another historic church. Please note: we will only do weddings at Santa Susanna (which is in Rome, Italy, not in Vatican City) or, on occasion at Saint Peter's Basilica (in Vatican City, a separate country from Italy). We are not able to assist you with weddings at other Churches in Rome or in other Italian cities. Wherever you are married in Rome, the wedding requires both civil and ecclesiastical authorization. To get married at Santa Susanna, please be sure to contact one of us, the Paulist Fathers, to let us know your intentions. Sometimes the documents arrive at our doorstep and we have never heard of the couple who wish to be married. Call us (011.3906.488.2748) or write to: Fr. Greg Apparcel at rector@santasusanna.org.

Couples need to begin the process no more than six months and no less than four months before the intended wedding date. However a wedding date at Santa Susanna can be tentatively set, up to one year in advance, but no more. A date for the wedding cannot be officially established until the couple has gone through an extensive interview (a first meeting in which general information is taken) with their parish priest, usually their proper pastor.  It is also necessary to have a telephone conversation with one of the priests here at Santa Susanna) who will often be the priest performing the wedding. The interview with the parish priest will determine whether there may be impediments to the marriage, and whether it is appropriate for the couple to be married in a Catholic ceremony.

Please Note:We follow these guidelines exactly, stage by stage. There are no shortcuts or alternative ways of proceeding. If this is not agreeable to you, then please seek out another source to make your arrangements.

Also if you have come directly to this page through an internet search engine, please go to the left side column and return to our weddings home page for important instructions. Do not presume you can proceed without reading our home page on Weddings in Rome

PLEASE NOTE THAT BECAUSE OF RECENT PROBLEMS IN GETTING THE CORECT DOCUMENTATION, PLEASE ASK FR. GREG FOR A LETTER ADDRESSED TO YOUR PRIEST THAT OUTLINES REGULATIONS THAT ARE SPECIFIC TO THE VICARIATE OF ROME (THE ROMAN DIOCESE) AND MAY BE DIFFERENT FROM YOUR OWN DIOCESE.

Basic Paperwork Package

To complete the interview process with your priest, a couple will have to provide the following:

  1. Certificates of Baptism and Confirmation (issued within 6 months of the proposed wedding date). Please note too that Confirmation is required for Catholics both in Rome and in the Vatican and throughout the world.
  2. Two written statements for both the bride and groom, testifying that they are free to enter into marriage in the Catholic Church (usually statements by their parents, or if not possible, a relative or long time acquaintance.) If your parish priest has the Form B, Freedom to Marry Forms, which your families fill out, then you do not need the written statements.
  3. (Copies of annulments or decrees of nullity when applicable. Remember that you cannot set a wedding date until the annulment has been granted)
  4. A copy of this website memorandum to assist the priest doing the interview.
  5. Photocopies of the Bearer Information Pages (the photo and basic information sheets) of both passports.

The priest will interview the couple, complete the Pre-marital Investigation form, provide for appropriate pre-marriage instruction (ie: Pre- Cana), obtain dispensations when necessary, and write a brief letter recommending that the marriage proceed. In addition, the following information is required by the Diocese of Rome and must be included in the basic wedding packet. (This can be written on a separate sheet for our use in Rome).

  1. The profession or occupation of both the bride and groom
  2. The full names, addresses and ages of the two witnesses for the ceremony. If the female witness is married, her maiden name is required!

All original documentation (certificates, statements of freedom to marry, Pre-Marital Investigation, certificate of instruction, dispensations, and recommendation) must be submitted by the priest to the local chancery for a Nihil Obstat. The entire packet of original documents must be sent to Rome as soon as it is completed. The Offices of the Diocese of Rome requires the documentation to be here at least one month in advance. A wedding date at Santa Susanna, which is in the Diocese of Rome, can be set before this.

N.B.: Failure to obtain the Nihil Obstat will result in the rejection of the entire documentation packet by the Marriage Office of the Diocese of Rome. (The same is true for Vatican Parochial Office for weddings at St. Peter's.) The Nihil Obstat must include the stamp or seal of the (Arch)diocese. Please note: the baptismal certificates AND the Nihil Obstat must be dated within six months of the wedding!

The entire packet of original documents (with photocopies of the data pages of the couple's passports) are to be sent to the Paulist Fathers at the following address. Please, please do not send them elsewhere, either to the Lateran (Vicariato di Roma) or to Vatican City or even to the Church of Santa Susanna, but to the following:

The Paulist Fathers
Via Antonio Salandra 6 Int. 10
00187, Rome, Italy

If your Chancery Office objects to sending the documents directly to the Paulist Fathers, please contact us immediately and we will speak with the appropriate person directly. It is the norm to have them sent directly to St. John Lateran (if the wedding is in Rome) or to St. Peter's (if the wedding is in Vatican City), but we have seen several mishaps as a result. There have been occasions when original documents were not sent to us and were lost as they have been sent to the wrong person, or the wrong office in either the Vatican or the Diocesan Office in Rome, or were just misdirected. This is why we ask that you send them directly to us, and we walk them over to the appropriate office here, with the added Italian forms and letters. When sending the documents to the Paulist Fathers at the above address, please use a courier service (DHL and Fed-Ex are best), and please keep the tracking number. (Additional Suggestion: Once the documents have been properly signed and stamped by the chancery, photocopies should be made and retained by the couple).

Couples should arrive in Rome at least three business days before the wedding. In calculating business days, Italian legal holidays, Vatican holy days, and weekends should be taken into consideration. With the opening and closing hours of the civil and religious offices, Tuesdays and Thursdays are the best days to have your wedding. We do have weddings at Santa Susanna Monday through Saturday, depending on availability, and our customary times are 10:30 AM or 4 PM. After arriving in Rome, the couple should contact the Paulist Fathers by phone at (+39) 06.488.2748 or (+39) 06.4201.4554. The priest will review the civil documentation with the couple, go over the ceremony itself and answer any additional questions. In fact, it would be best to arrange this appointment ahead of time.

N.B.: Before the couple departs for Rome, it is strongly recommended that American citizens obtain the Atto Notorio required for marriage in Italy. Contact your local Italian Consulate for information on how to do this. This will save at least one full day of dealing with Italian bureaucracy here in Rome. Once in Italy, the procedures are much more complicated and time consuming!

THE CIVIL REQUIREMENTS

Unless you are already married civilly in the United States, for weddings at Santa Susanna Church, you will now need to obtain: An Atto Notorio and a Nulla Osta which will need to be legalized at the Prefettura. If you have already been married (to each other) civilly you will only need to provide a certified copy of your civil marriage certificate at least two weeks prior to your Church wedding, and will NOT need to obtain the Nulla Osta or the Atto Notorio. If you are not married civilly, then you need to do the following:

Nulla Osta

After arrival, American couples must visit the United States Consulate in Rome located on the corner of Via Veneto and Via Boncompani to acquire a Nulla Osta. (If you are a citizen of a country other than the United States, please ask Fr. Greg or Fr. Tom what needs to be done, AND check the website of your nation's embassy here in Rome). You will need the following documents:

  1. American passport or Armed Forces Identification Card.
  2. If under 18, a sworn statement by parents or legal guardian consenting to the wedding.
  3. If you have been married before, a divorce decree or a death certificate.

These documents will allow you to obtain a declaration (called a Nulla Osta) that states that there are "No Obstacles" under U.S. law to the proposed marriage. It takes about 30 minutes to prepare this declaration, which is issued by appointment only.  Please go to the US Embassy to Italy website to make an appointment, http://rome.usembassy.gov/cons/. It is valid for six months and cost $30.00 USD per person. (Can be paid in dollars or Euro. They accept traveler's checks, but NOT credit cards. Please remember to bring money to the Embassy. No cashier's checks, no money orders, no third party checks will be accepted.) (Please doublecheck this information on the U.S. Embassy website: www.usembassy.it, consulate secition). (If you are getting married at St. Peter's, the Nulla Osta is all you need. You do not need to have it legalized.  You do not need an Atto Notorio).

N.B.: For weddings at Santa Susanna (in Rome), at this stage you will need assistance to get through the Italian bureaucracy. Whether it is to have your Nulla Osta legalized, or to acquire your Atto Notorio (if you did not get one in the states). You need to speak Italian and to have witnesses. These services are available to couples and cost anywhere between (300 and 600 Euro). We can provide you names of available services. These charges are in addition to the fees that the Paulist Fathers ask.

Having received your Nulla Osta, this must be legalized by the Ufficio Legalizzazioni della Prefettura at Viale Ostiense, 131L, Rome, telephone (06) 67294633, Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 9:00am-12:00pm. Before you go to the Prefettura, you will need to purchase a revenue stamp (marca da bollo) which costs Euro 14,62 (approx.) at a tobacconist (tabaccaio) to take with you. If you plan to marry at a Roman Catholic Church in the Vatican, you do not need this legalisation. There is also an additional fee of 10 Euro. If you are being married at the Vatican you do not need this legalization.

The Atto Notorio

At this point, if the couple does not have the Atto Notorio issued in the United States prior to departure (which can be done at the Italian Consulate closest to your city), they must now acquire this document. The Atto Notorio is acquired at the Prefettura Civile, Ufficio Atti Notori, at Viale Giulio Cesare, 54/b, Rome, Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. and on Monday and Thursday, 3:00 to 4:00 p.m. (tel.06.357.7691). You must call for an appointment. You will also need to ask how many revenue stamps (marce da bollo) you need to purchase. Two witnesses over 18 years of age and an interpreter, if necessary, need to be present. You, the witnesses, and the interpreter must show proof of recent entry into Italy, i.e. plane ticket or visa, or a Permit to Stay (permesso di soggiorno).
If you have a facilitator, this makes the process much easier.
.- If you use a service mentioned above for this process, then an interpreter and witnesses will be provided.) Please note that there is often confusion about all this, so feel free to ask specific questions. However, please note that all this does not mean that you will have a separate civil wedding service in Rome and a separate religious service. If you follow all of these steps, there is only one wedding ceremony that is both simultanteously relgious and civil.

Italian Civil Marriage Certificate: Please note the reality of the Italian bureaucracy. It takes a long time to get the civil marriage certificate after the wedding. We will apply for it from the local agency, but be prepared to wait three to four months, and sometimes longer!! AND, once you do receive this certificate, you will need to check with your local city hall/records office to see what you need to do to have your marriage registered in the United States. You might want to check on this prior to coming here to get married. Notification of Weddings that take place at St. Peter's is automatically sent to the county in which you live. Notification of Weddings that take place in Rome (and throughout Italy) you need to take care of the transfer of this information yourselves. For this reason, you might want to consider the possibility of getting married civilly in the United States before you come to Rome for your religious wedding.

Approval from the Vicariate of Rome

The couple now takes all the documents (both the civil documents together with all the church documents) to the priest in Rome performing the ceremony. If you are working with us here at Santa Susanna, we will take care of the next stage. What we do is to take the documents to the Ufficio Matrimoniale of the Vicariate of Rome, located at St. John Lateran, Piazza San Giovanni Laterano 6. After all the documents are found to be in order at the Ufficio Matrimoniale, the documents go to the Protocol Office, where they are to be filed (except for one, the Modolo XIV which is stamped and returned, the offering is 11 €). The Modolo XIV is then returned to the priest at Santa Susanna, who will complete the arrangements and prepare further documentation (which includes delegation, Modolo XV and Modolo XVI and civil registration). As you can see this requires a lot of administration time on the part of the priest performing the wedding.

You are now finally ready to be married at Santa Susanna!

Wedding Costs

Basic Costs:
How much will it cost you to be married here in Rome? Depending on what you want it may vary. We have found that weddings in Rome are very time consuming and take us away from the work of the parish. Weddings for visiting couples are an additional service we provide beyond our usual parish responsibilities.

The basic cost (for the Lateran approval, the use of our Church (staff and utilities), your church paperwork, the organist and the priest) is 900 € or its American dollar equivalent. This fee must be paid by check (made out to the Paulist Fathers) at least six to eight weeks prior to the wedding date. If the wedding is cancelled after that date, these fees are not refundable! It is also suggested that you give a personal gift to the priest of 100 € or so the day of wedding with your thanks for his assistance.

Other Costs:
Other costs such as photographs or soloists are all extra. You are also welcome to give the priest a personal stipend (if you have found him helpful). The basic costs paid for your wedding go directly to the Paulist Fathers and to St. Peter's, and not to the priest. This is of course is optional. Here is some idea of approximate costs for other services:

  • Flowers: (Prices Vary) We can recommend a florist or you can find one on your own when you arrive. Depending on the season, sometimes the church is already decorated with flowers. There are so many beautiful frescoes in Santa Susanna that sometimes flowers seem unnecessary. We can also suggest florists from which to order bouquest and boutonnieres.
  • Photographs: (500 to 800 € approx) We can connect you with a photographer if you wish. There is a list of photographers in the general wedding section of this website. Photographs are given to the couple as contact prints and negatives to be taken home for printing. The fees is about 350-550 € for 70 negatives. For videography, (one copy in VHS compatible format- 1/2 hour in length) the fee is about 350-700 €. These are the most economical prices. There are better and more expensive photographers, and we can recommend these as well. However, you will need to negotiate directly with them. These fees may have increased in the past few months (2007)
  • Soloist: If you would like a singer/soloist to sing at your wedding at Santa Susanna, please let Fr. Tom or Fr. Greg know as they will arrange one through Aurelio Porfiri, our music director.  Or contact Aurelio directly. The Wedding fee is inclusive of Aurelio's services as organist, but there is an extra fee (100 euros) if you would like a soloist.
  • Civil Document Assistance: (250 to 500 € approx) An interpreter and witnesses to get you through the Roman bureaucracy. For the legalization of your Nulla Osta and the acquisition of your Atto Notorio.
  • Hired Witnesses: (50 € approx) Increasingly couples have come to Rome without witnesses. However, please note that family members and friends are preferable as witnesses (best man and maid of honor). And if it is preferable that couples coming alone do not request to have their wedding at St. Peter's. If do you need wotmesses please give us as much advance warning as possible, as this also effects your paperwork!
  • Sposi Novelli (Newlywed) Tickets to the Pope's Audience: (free) On most Wednesdays, the Pope has a General Audience. Newlywed tickets are available, but they must be requested. We can do this for you. The couple does not necessarily have to wear their wedding attire (as of September 22, 2006), BUT will need their church wedding certificate (but you must be married within 8 weeks of the audience), and will be seated in one of two front section. Personal blessings for the couple by the Holy Father are no longer done as they were in the previous pontificate. We are sorry that the rules keep on changing but we can only provide you with the information as we are given it. It seems now that you can either wear your wedding attire, or wear other appropriate clothing.  It seems that those with wedding attire are put in one section, and those with other clothing in another section. Unfortunately this sometimes has to do with the whims of the particular guards of the day, but that is the official regulation. We thank you your patience and your devotion.

Dress Guidelines: Great sensitivity is required in choosing the wedding dress. There can be no bare shoulders, upper arms or back, and the hem must reach at least below the knee. The same dress guidelines apply to the wedding guests.  If your dress is strapless, you will need to wear a shawl or bolero (but nothing sheer or see-through). If you have a veil (which is not mandatory) please note that it is NOT sufficient to cover bare shoulders or back. It is very important to follow these guidelines as you are being married in a different culture, which has its own customs and sense of what is important. We have recently experienced some difficulty in brides and guests not appreciating this sensitivity and we ask that you not put us in an often embarrassing situation.

RICE and CONFETTI: Please ask your guests, ahead of time, not to bring RICE or CONFETTI or anything else to throw at you when you come out of the Church. Not only is it dangerous on our steps and sidewalk (people slipping), it also attracts pigeons who have done some damage to our marble steps. It is also a huge mess to clean up and often it is the priest that ends up doing it. So just throw love and kisses.

This is the Information about weddings at Santa Susanna in Rome. We have tried to inform you of as many details as possible, regarding marriage in Rome. There may however, be some particulars relating to you or to your intended spouse, that may cause difficulty, or even make the process easier. During our initial telephone conversation, we will be happy to discuss your particular circumstances with you. We hope you find this of some help!

The Paulist Fathers of Rome : Fr. Greg at rector@santasusanna.org

II am interested in contacting one of the priests at Santa Susanna.