Engaged Encounter weekends are a form of marriage preparation, recognized by the Catholic Church. Although Tucson has commuter weekends, the goal is to achieve a retreat like atmosphere.

A series of presentations will be given by married couples and priests. After each presentation, both fiancé’s are given time to individually reflect and write on the topic covered. Couples are then given time to privately reflect as a couple. Couples are never required to share their writings with the group.

No, Catholic Engaged Encounter is open to anyone, regardless of religious affiliation. However, the weekend is Catholic in design, intended to provide marriage preparation for couples planning to marry in the Catholic Church.

We recommend registering 4-6 months prior to your wedding date.

Weekends are $150 per couple. The registration fee includes all supplies and lunch for both days of the retreat.

We suggest you bring the following items with you:

• A reusable cup to enjoy coffee, tea and water provided during the retreat
• Any snack or drink items for your own personal consumption

Please dress comfortably. We will attend Mass during the weekend. However, casual attire is acceptable.

The weekend begins at 8am and concludes by 5pm on both Saturday and Sunday of the weekend commuter retreat.

Please plan to arrive between 7:30 – 7:45am on Saturday morning in order to check in.

Each couple will receive two workbooks to use throughout the retreat. These are yours to keep. The workbook provides an outline of the retreat and topics covered. Due to varying factors, such as meal times, slight differences in presenter’s length on topics, we are unable to provide exact timing of each presentation. Most presentations, individual reflection and couple reflection time total about 60-90 minutes.

No, Tucson Engaged Encounter offers commuter weekends. You are not required to stay overnight.

Yes, it is very important that you are in attendance on both days of the retreat. If you arrive late or leave early, you will miss important parts of the retreat experience, and we will not be able to give you your certificate of completion of the retreat. If an emergency arrises, please speak with one of the team members.

Catholic Engaged Encounter offers a weekend-long retreat away from the hustle and bustle of life, where you can focus on each other, your relationship, and what it means to become a sacrament. While couples spend the majority of the retreat together – there is not much free time.  

Catholic Engaged Encounter is a time for work and fostering growth in a relationship. As such we ask that couples refrain from using electronic devices as much as possible – including cell phones.

No, the purpose of the Catholic Engaged Encounter weekend is to interact with and talk with your fiance about the many aspects of marriage. If your fiance is not present, you will be unable to complete the program.

Additional Catholic Engaged Encounter weekends are held in nearby dioceses. Check other CEE communities for additional locations and dates on the National website at engagedencounter.com.

Once a weekend is full, a waiting list is generated in date-order of requests received. If there are cancellations on the full weekend, slots will be filled in the order of requests received. Please email at tucson@engagedencounter.com with any questions.