Who we are
Couples helping couples, since 1977
A volunteer peer ministry for marriages in crisis, and for marriages that just feel off.
Marriage Rediscovery is a volunteer peer ministry that presents an updated version of the Retrouvaille program. See how it's different. Couples come to us in serious trouble, and couples come to us when something has just started feeling off. Both kinds leave with the same set of tools. Explore our community, the presenting couples who run each weekend, and the Christian foundation the program rests on. Read about us for the name and history, or see success stories from couples who came through.
For couples in any kind of trouble
Marriage Rediscovery serves couples wherever they are. We are built for marriages in crisis, including the ones facing separation, divorce, or an affair. We also work with couples who are not in crisis but feel further apart than they want to be. Both kinds of couples leave with the same tools.
The track record
The program has helped tens of thousands of couples put their marriages back together since 1977. It runs today in multiple languages across dozens of countries. The format has been adjusted over the decades. The core has not.
What we are here to do
We give couples tools that work and we stay with them while they use them. We have watched couples in real pain make their way back. We have also watched couples decide it was already over. We do not pretend the second group does not exist.
How we are organized
Marriage Rediscovery is a non-profit peer ministry. The whole organization is volunteer couples who went through the program themselves and stayed. As a registered 501(c)(3), operating costs are covered by donations from couples whose marriages got help here.
The faith piece
The program is Catholic in foundation and Christian in its principles, and it welcomes couples of any faith or none. The religious portions are optional. The marriage tools are practical. They work the same way for an atheist as they do for a daily-mass Catholic.
What we believe about change
We have watched a lot of couples turn their marriages around through this program. Not every marriage can be saved. The tools work for the couples willing to use them. The weekend asks roughly this of you:
- Set down old hurts long enough to do the exercises
- Learn a different way to talk
- Spend the time it takes to rediscover each other
- Stay open to a fresh start, even if it feels far away
That is the work. The couples who do it usually walk out of the weekend with more than they came in with.
If you refer couples to us
We work with two groups of professionals who frequently send couples our way. Read a referral guide for therapists if you are a licensed clinician, or a referral guide for clergy if you are a priest, deacon, pastor, or lay minister. Each page covers when the weekend complements your work, when it does not, and how to coordinate with a local community.
Need to talk to someone?
Our communities run weekends all year. Call us, email, or look for a program near you.
All conversations are confidential.