Wedding Topics

Text of the Nuptial Blessing

Below are the texts options from The Order of Celebrating Matrimony (2nd edition, USCCB, 2016) for the Nuptial Blessing prayed during a Catholic wedding. To see when during the wedding the Nuptial Blessing is said, check the outline of a Catholic wedding ceremony with Mass or the order of a Catholic wedding ceremony without Mass. Also below is the text for an optional Blessing and Placing of the Lazo (Veil) which may occur prior to the Nuptial Blessing.

Italics indicate the rubrics, the instructions to the presider.

Excerpts from the English translation of The Roman Missal © 2010, International Commission on English in the Liturgy Corporation (ICEL); excerpts from the English translation of The Order of Celebrating Matrimony © 2013, ICEL. All rights reserved.

Excerpts from the Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States of America, second typical edition © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc. and some additional texts copyright © 2016, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Washington, DC. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the permission in writing form the copyright holder.

Individuals who wish to reproduce text from The Order of Celebrating Matrimony for their own use (including reproduction in wedding programs) must follow the ICEL copyright permission procedures, which may be found at www.icelweb.org.

Optional: Blessing and Placing of the Lazo or Veil (#71B)

According to local customs, the rite of blessing and imposition of the lazo (wedding garland) or of the veil may take place before the Nuptial Blessing. The spouses remain kneeling in their place. If the lazo has not be placed earlier, and it is now convenient to do so, it may be placed at this time, or else, a veil is placed over the head of the wife and the shoulders of the husband, thus symbolizing the bond that unites them.

The Priest or one who presides says:
Bless, O Lord, this lazo (or this veil),
A symbol of the indissoluble union
that Name and Name have established from this day forward
before you and with your help.

The lazo (or the veil) is held by two family members or friends and is placed over the shoulders of the newly married couple.

Nuptial Blessing

After the Our Father, the prayer Deliver us is omitted. The Priest, standing and facing the bride and bridegroom, invokes upon them God's blessing, and this is never omitted.

In the invitation, if one or both of the spouses will not be receiving Communion, the words in parentheses are omitted. In the last paragraph of the prayer, the words in parentheses may be omitted if it seems that circumstances suggest it, for example, if the bride and bridegroom are advanced in years.The bride and bridegroom approach the altar or, if appropriate, they remain at their place and kneel.The Priest, with hands joined, calls upon those present to pray:

Option A (#73)

Dear brothers and sisters,
let us humbly pray to the Lord
that on these his servants, now married in Christ,
he may mercifully pour out
the blessing of his grace
and make of one heart in love
(by the Sacrament of Christ's Body and Blood)
those he has joined by a holy covenant.

Option B (#104)

Now let us humbly invoke God’s blessing
upon this bride and groom,
that in his kindness he may favor with his help
those on whom he has bestowed the
Sacrament of Matrimony.

Option C (#206)

Let us pray to the Lord for this bride and groom,
who come to the altar as they begin their married life,
that (partaking of the Body and Blood of Christ)
they may always be bound together by love for one another.

Option D (#138)

Now let us humbly invoke God’s blessing
upon this bride and groom,
that in his kindness he may favor with his help
those on whom he has bestowed the bond of Marriage.

And all pray in silence for a while.

Then the Priest (or minister), with hands extended over the bride and bridegroom, continues to say or sing:

Option 1 (#74)

O God, who by your mighty power
created all things out of nothing,
and, when you had set in place
the beginnings of the universe,
formed man and woman in your own image,
making the woman an inseparable helpmate to the man,
that they might no longer be two, but one flesh,
and taught that what you were pleased to make one
must never be divided;
O God, who consecrated the bond of Marriage
by so great a mystery
that in the wedding covenant you foreshadowed
the Sacrament of Christ and his Church;
O God, by whom woman is joined to man
and the companionship they had in the beginning
is endowed with the one blessing
not forfeited by original sin
nor washed away by the flood.
Look now with favor on these your servants,
joined together in Marriage,
who ask to be strengthened by your blessing.
Send down on them the grace of the Holy Spirit
and pour your love into their hearts,
that they may remain faithful in the Marriage covenant.
May the grace of love and peace
abide in your daughter (Name),
and let her always follow the example of those holy women
whose praises are sung in the Scriptures.
May her husband entrust his heart to her,
so that, acknowledging her as his equal
and his joint heir to the life of grace,
he may show her due honor
and cherish her always
with the love that Christ has for his Church.
And now, Lord, we implore you:
may these your servants
hold fast to the faith and keep your commandments;
made one in the flesh,
may they be blameless in all they do;
and with the strength that comes from the Gospel,
may they bear true witness to Christ before all;
(may they be blessed with children,
and prove themselves virtuous parents,
who live to see their children's children).
And grant that,
reaching at last together the fullness of years
for which they hope,
they may come to the life of the blessed
in the Kingdom of Heaven.
Through Christ our Lord.
Response: Amen.

Option 2 (#207)

Holy Father,
who formed man in your own image,
male and female you created them,
so that as husband and wife, united in body and heart,
they might fulfill their calling in the world;
O God, who, to reveal the great design you formed in your love,
willed that the love of spouses for each other
should foreshadow the covenant you graciously made
with your people,
so that, by fulfillment of the sacramental sign,
the mystical marriage of Christ with his Church
might become manifest
in the union of husband and wife among your faithful;
Graciously stretch out your right hand
over these your servants (Name and Name), we pray,
and pour into their hearts the power of the Holy Spirit.
Grant, O Lord,
that, as they enter upon this sacramental union,
they may share with one another the gifts of your love
and, by being for each other a sign of your presence,
become one heart and one mind.
May they also sustain, O Lord, by their deeds
the home they are forming
(and prepare their children
to become members of your heavenly household
by raising them in the way of the Gospel).
Graciously crown with your blessings your daughter Name,
so that, by being a good wife (and mother),
she may bring warmth to her home with a love that is pure
and adorn it with welcoming graciousness.
Bestow a heavenly blessing also, O Lord,
on Name, your servant,
that he may be a worthy, good and
faithful husband (and a provident father).
Grant, holy Father, that, desiring to approach your table
as a couple joined in Marriage in your presence,
they may one day have the joy
of taking part in your great banquet in heaven.
Through Christ our Lord.
Response: Amen.

Option 3 (#209)

Holy Father, maker of the whole world,
who created man and woman in your own image
and willed that their union be crowned with your blessing,
we humbly beseech you for these your servants,
who are joined today in the Sacrament of Matrimony.
May your abundant blessing, Lord,
come down upon this bride, Name,
and upon Name, her companion for life,
and may the power of your Holy Spirit
set their hearts aflame from on high,
so that, living out together the gift of Matrimony,
they may (adorn their family with children and) enrich the Church.
In happiness may they praise you, O Lord,
in sorrow may they seek you out;
may they have the joy of your presence
to assist them in their toil,
and know that you are near
to comfort them in their need;
let them pray to you in the holy assembly
and bear witness to you in the world,
and after a happy old age,
together with the circle of friends that surrounds them,
may they come to the Kingdom of Heaven.
Through Christ our Lord.
Response: Amen.

The prayer Lord Jesus Christ is omitted, and The peace of the Lord is said immediately.

Then the bride and bridegroom and all present offer one another a sign, in keeping with local customs, that expresses peace, communion and charity.

For more information

Order of a Catholic wedding ceremony during Mass
A step-by-step walk through the complete order of the Catholic wedding Mass.

Order of a Catholic wedding ceremony outside Mass
A step-by-step walk through the complete order of a Catholic wedding outside of Mass.

Order of a wedding between a Catholic and an unbaptized person
A step-by-step walk through the complete order of a wedding between a Catholic and someone who has not been baptized as a Christian.

Choosing the form of your wedding
As you begin planning your wedding, one of the first things you will discuss with the priest or deacon at your parish is which form of the Rite of Marriage you will use during your wedding. Here are the three basic options.