Getting Married in a Catholic Church?

forthepocket

I hope I posted this in the right place. I'm just wondering if a Catholic man were planning to marry a non Catholic woman I know that they can be granted a dispensation to marry providing they promise to be open to children and all that. But if the woman wanted to convert to Catholicism how long would that take approximatly? I've heard that it takes years but that there are advanced classes for adults. Can anyone who has gone through this shed some light? Thank you and if I've put this in the wrong place and should've put it in Ceremony Ideas please let me know and I'll try to move the post.

MobKaz

There is actually a place for this under Cultural Wedding Boards.....but I can tell you that it does NOT take years.  In many parishes, the rite begins in the Fall and ends at Easter.  Contact your local parish for more information.

Non Catholics can marry Catholics in the church without converting.  And, you are correct....it usually involves a pledge to raise the children in the Faith.

mysticl

Like PP said there is a Catholic Board under Cultural Wedding Boards, however, your best bet is to talk to a priest.  The individual priests do have a small bit of leeway in their requirements.  For example when a Catholic friend of mine was marrying a non-Catholic her priest told her that she had to try to raise the children Catholic but if it would cause too much strain on the marriage to do so then she should put her marriage first and expose the children to the religion so they could make their own choice when they were older. 

ootmother2

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_customs-traditions_getting-married-catholic-church?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:36Discussion:abfef353-7b3e-4aae-9eb9-2275a468bedaPost:600ebee8-ab38-4405-8fcc-4975168fec86">Re: Getting Married in a Catholic Church?</a>:
[QUOTE]Like PP said there is a Catholic Board under Cultural Wedding Boards, however, your best bet is to talk to a priest.  The individual priests do have a small bit of leeway in their requirements.  For example when a Catholic friend of mine was marrying a non-Catholic her priest told her that she had to try to raise the children Catholic but if it would cause too much strain on the marriage to do so then she should put her marriage first and expose the children to the religion so they could make their own choice when they were older. 
Posted by mysticl[/QUOTE]

The old fashioned promise was to raise your children as Catholics but now the non Catholic party promises to do their best to keep the Catholic faith in their lives and not to interfer with the Catholic party's beliefs.

karmellah

im not catholic. all I had to agree with was No divorce and to raise our kids in the catholic faith

Kate504

a friend of mine is getting married in a catholic church to an agnostic in 10 days, it can be done. They went through the normal processes and did not have to do anything extra.

[Deleted User]

I agree with what the other ladies have said. If you are interested in becoming Catholic, now is a perfect time to do so. The process is called RCIA, which is the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults. It ususally starts right after Labor Day and you are confirmed at the Easter Vigil Mass.

MyNameIsNot

It doesn't take long to convert, 6 mos to a year.  Sometimes it's less if you were baptized in another Christian denomination.  Talk to the RCIA people at your parish.

Catholics marry non-catholics all the time, in the church.  Sometimes it is a big deal if the non-catholic person is non-christian, but it is done frequently, and generally doesn't even require a dispensation.  

preciosa4

The RCIA process isn't that long, though in some churches, you should know that they suggest you separate the time of your wedding from the time of conversion.  (To make sure that you are converting for the right reasons.)  "Mixed" marriages are now seen as having special gifts to offer; it's not as hard core as it used to be.  (Depends on the parish, of course.) 

jessicasheldon2011

Wow, after reading this topic I'm not so sure I want to go ahead with the Catholic church now lol. I am Anglican and my fiance is Catholic. Neither of us go to church. We had our daughter baptized in the Anglican Church. I wouldn't be switching my religion though. We were going to pick the Catholic church as a back up plan if it rained outside. It is soo nice in there and big! Good bye to that I guess

buckettgirl

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_customs-traditions_getting-married-catholic-church?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:36Discussion:abfef353-7b3e-4aae-9eb9-2275a468bedaPost:3a92eb5f-1596-4f02-bdd0-84cd0940a9d8">Re: Getting Married in a Catholic Church?</a>:
[QUOTE]Wow, after reading this topic I'm not so sure I want to go ahead with the Catholic church now lol. I am Anglican and my fiance is Catholic. Neither of us go to church. We had our daughter baptized in the Anglican Church. I wouldn't be switching my religion though. We were going to pick the Catholic church as a back up plan if it rained outside. It is soo nice in there and big! Good bye to that I guess
Posted by jessicasheldon2011[/QUOTE]
I am having a Catholic wedding.  I was baptized Catholic, but not confirmed; FI's family is Methodist but he was not baptized. We had to sign the dispensation paper for persmission to marry a non-Catholic and I had to sign the form to promise to raise children as Catholic. Additionally, I have to fill out paperwork to addressing my first marriage (although it is not technically an anullment), the paperwork merely shows that we had a civil ceremony.  I do not have to get confirmed and FI does not have to convert.
However, we do both have to attend the Engaged Encounter weekend and get a certificate before we can be married; and we have to meet with our priest at least montly (which is nice because we really like our priest). The Engaged Encounter costs about $200.
Also, if you are not a member of the parish, you will likely have to pay for the use of the church in addition to the honorarium for the officiant, organist, cantor, etc. It's alot of work. This Monday, we took the FOCCUS inventory and even though I'm not very religious, I think everyone should take this before marrying - although we have yet to discuss the results with our priest, we have found it to be very informative to this point.

jessicasheldon2011

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_customs-traditions_getting-married-catholic-church?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:36Discussion:abfef353-7b3e-4aae-9eb9-2275a468bedaPost:07f3799d-063a-42f8-91d8-e77199d0a5e3">Re: Getting Married in a Catholic Church?</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Getting Married in a Catholic Church? : I am having a Catholic wedding.  I was baptized Catholic, but not confirmed; FI's family is Methodist but he was not baptized. We had to sign the dispensation paper for persmission to marry a non-Catholic and I had to sign the form to promise to raise children as Catholic. Additionally, I have to fill out paperwork to addressing my first marriage (although it is not technically an anullment), the paperwork merely shows that we had a civil ceremony.  I do not have to get confirmed and FI does not have to convert. However, we do both have to attend the Engaged Encounter weekend and get a certificate before we can be married; and we have to meet with our priest at least montly (which is nice because we really like our priest). The Engaged Encounter costs about $200. Also, if you are not a member of the parish, you will likely have to pay for the use of the church in addition to the honorarium for the officiant, organist, cantor, etc. It's alot of work. This Monday, we took the FOCCUS inventory and even though I'm not very religious, I think everyone should take this before marrying - although we have yet to discuss the results with our priest, we have found it to be very informative to this point.
Posted by buckettgirl[/QUOTE]

All of that sounds good. The downer for us would be the part about raising our children Catholic. I love the inside of the Catholic church here. But another downer for that is it isn't available on the date we want to get married. So we're going with the Anglican church. It is still nice :) I'm not sure what we have to do for it yet though. We are suppose to have an appointment within the next couple of weeks. I wouldn't mind taking the FOCCUS inventory, it sounds like it could be fun. How did you find it?

buckettgirl

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_customs-traditions_getting-married-catholic-church?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:36Discussion:abfef353-7b3e-4aae-9eb9-2275a468bedaPost:9dc8e5c4-d4d4-4248-94fa-a3cd3b1fdd91">Re: Getting Married in a Catholic Church?</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Getting Married in a Catholic Church? : All of that sounds good. The downer for us would be the part about raising our children Catholic. I love the inside of the Catholic church here. But another downer for that is it isn't available on the date we want to get married. So we're going with the Anglican church. It is still nice :) I'm not sure what we have to do for it yet though. We are suppose to have an appointment within the next couple of weeks. I wouldn't mind taking the FOCCUS inventory, it sounds like it could be fun. How did you find it?
Posted by jessicasheldon2011[/QUOTE]
We were required to take the FOCCUS inventory as part of our marriage prep process, but there is also a website available if you google it.  It isn't specific to Catholicism but does have some faith based questions listed; otherwise the rest have to do with topics such as money, family, sex, etc.

cookiesandwine

My FI and I are both Catholic and will be getting married in the Catholic Church.  If you're not a member of a parish it may be more difficult to reserve your date; many times if a parish member requests your date, they can bump you up to 6 months out. As PP mentioned, you will more than likely have to pay more for use of the church. 
I would have to advise against using a Catholic church as a "back-up."  There is a lot more involved than you may be thinking, including the FOCCUS inventory, PreCana classes, and different music or reading restrictions depending on the parish. The best way to figure it out is to set up a meeting with the priest.

jessicasheldon2011

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_customs-traditions_getting-married-catholic-church?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:36Discussion:abfef353-7b3e-4aae-9eb9-2275a468bedaPost:4850c37a-8acf-46aa-8ecf-0631df71fe29">Re: Getting Married in a Catholic Church?</a>:
[QUOTE]My FI and I are both Catholic and will be getting married in the Catholic Church.  If you're not a member of a parish it may be more difficult to reserve your date; many times if a parish member requests your date, they can bump you up to 6 months out. As PP mentioned, you will more than likely have to pay more for use of the church.  I would have to advise against using a Catholic church as a "back-up."  There is a lot more involved than you may be thinking, including the FOCCUS inventory, PreCana classes, and different music or reading restrictions depending on the parish. The best way to figure it out is to set up a meeting with the priest.
Posted by amilyn9785[/QUOTE]

We're going with Anglican anyways. It's booked now. Not sure if you seen my last post about it. It is a few up. It explains why we didn't get the catholic church.