New Regulations For Church Wedding
Thinking of getting married in Costa Rica? Beginning tomorrow a couple who wish to marry in a Catholic Church must go through the following steps: an interview with the local priest, a weekly church meeting for the next three and a half months and attending an intensive course that will take up five weekends of time.

Those are the new regulations by the Catholic Church in Costa Rica, confirmed yesterday by San José's Archibishop, Monseñor Hugo Barrantes Ureña.

These new regulations only apply to couples who belong to the San José archdiocese, The rest of the archdioceses in the country are not affected by the new regulations.

The document titled "El evangelio del Matrimonio y la familia" analyzes what is marriage and family, details church doctrine and the dedications of the Christian family to the church and the world.

Barrantes said that the "preparation for marriage" is an urgent necessity given the large amount of failed marriages and divorces and the ensuing pain suffered by the families.

Couples who do not wish to follow the doctrine of the San José archdiocese can elect to register their intended marriage outside of San José or a civil marriage, which only entails visiting a lawyer's office and signing the relevant documents, which are then filed with the Registro Civil.