Invite a priest we've never met?

MarinoRabeno

Hi everyone. I'm having a Catholic wedding in June without a mass. My FI was raised Catholic. I was baptized, but not raised Catholic. Our wedding is in another state and about an hour and a half away from us. We had to find a church that would be willing to marry us without becoming a member. We ended up finding a great church with a great priest. All they required was 3 pre-cana classes and we're done!

The priest we originally met with, retired a few months ago. As of now, we've never met the person who is going to marry us. Even the church isn't sure who the stand in will be.

My question is this. Do we still invite this priest to the rehearsal dinner and reception? We will definitely meet with him before the wedding, but as of now, we have no idea who he is! I'm not sure what the etiquette here is! TIA!

Calypso1977

yes, your officiant should always be invited to the RD and the reception.  he will most likely decline both if he doesnt know you, but he still should be asked.

DFWIndian

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/cultural-wedding-boards_catholic-weddings_invite?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Cultural Wedding BoardsForum:615Discussion:6a4bdb71-2bf6-452a-ab4a-01c938919f5fPost:b4ac8864-0daf-4e38-a687-62265ed45f28">Re: Invite a priest we've never met?</a>:
[QUOTE]yes, your officiant should always be invited to the RD and the reception.  he will most likely decline both if he doesnt know you, but he still should be asked.
Posted by Calypso1977[/QUOTE]

Agreed. You will get to know him and either way he should be invited. It would just be one extra person if he does decide to come.

mica178

I agree with PPs.  It's a nice gesture, and if the new priest really doesn't know you and your family, he'll probably decline the invitation.  Priests are pretty busy all the time, so they usually don't attend random events just for kicks.

catarntina

I agree with PP's.  I am not a member of the church I am getting married in, and only met with the priest twice, but I invited him to both reception and RD.  He declined the reception (prior commitment), and I'm not sure about the RD yet (3 weeks away...).