Daily Ancestorin facie ecclesiae
In facie ecclesiae is Latin for in the face of the church, meaning a marriage performed openly before the congregation rather than in secret.
In facie ecclesiae means in the presence of the church, so in public before the congregation. It shows that a marriage was celebrated openly, after the usual banns, as church rules required.
Church law looked with suspicion on secret marriages, and clandestine marriage was one of the impediments priests checked for. The phrase is a stock part of the marriage formula, not a special detail about your ancestors.
As seen in a recordLatin marriage register, 1780s
matrimonio juncti sunt in facie ecclesiae, praemissis tribus denuntiationibus
Sources
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Daily Ancestor. "in facie ecclesiae." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/latin/in-facie-ecclesiae. Last checked 2026-10-10.