Please Help!

AmyLee119

I was raised Catholic (as was my fiancee) and we both fell away from the Church for many years after Confirmation. We got engaged and started planning the wedding. I recently started attending Church again on a regular basis and I am feeling really down about not getting married in the Catholic Church as I have already booked my ceremony and reception sites. I will be getting married at the Nazareth Chapel which is a beautiful chapel at a college campus in MN but they do not hold Mass there. It used to be a Seminary. Anyways, my point is, now that I am starting to practice my Catholic faith again, I wish to have the full on Catholic wedding. Since the chapel I will be getting married at is technically not a church, I will not be able to have marriage recognized by my church, will I? Does anyone know about a Catholic Priest marrying in a holy chapel that does not provide mass on Sundays? Is this possible?

bibliophile2010

Welcome! Please hang out, ask questions, etc.

i think your best bet is to talk to your priest. He is in the best position to tell you about the status of that chapel, help you make arrangements for a convalidation, or help provide a Catholic ceremony at another site. He will probably be happy to help you given the situation.

Chapels, I think, are sort of case-by-case (depending on their nature), but I wouldn't read the absence of daily mass as an absolute no. I can think of at least a couple of sites locally that don't have Sunday mass, but have been used for weddings/masses.

Regardless, I would really encourage you to make whatever arrangements are necessary to have your marriage recognized by the Church. You didn't mention when your wedding is, so I have no idea how practical moving/rescheduling it might be. Good luck!

lalaith50

Is this a Protestant college/chapel/ex-seminary? Or a Catholic one? That will make a huge difference. If it's a Catholic chapel, just because it doesn't normally have a Mass on Sundays doesn't mean that it can't. So yes, your best bet would be to talk to a priest in that diocese.

Calypso1977

when is your wedding?  is it possible to meet with your priest and book a catholic church and cancel the other one?

if not, as others said, you may be able to get a dispensation to be married there.  at the very least, you may be eligible later for a convalidation, but id try to make things right the first time and be done with it.  contact your priest and explain everything - he will work with you.

itzMS

You're talking about Northwestern College in St. Paul, right? I know Nazareth was a Roman Catholic seminary at one point as I have a bunch of friends who went to college there & shared the history.

I'm sure, being a Christian college, that there is a Campus Ministry department? I would certainly bet that the campus priest could also provide some great advice in addition to the priest of the parish you're currently attending.

Being that your wedding is about 11 months away, you will have plenty of time for Pre-Cana and other spiritual preparation. Congratulations!

Calypso1977

Being that your wedding is about 11 months away, you will have plenty of time for Pre-Cana and other spiritual preparation

is it really 11 months out?  if that's the case, then id simply move the ceremony to a catholic church and be done with it.  you have plenty of time, and invites, etc. have yet to be printed and i cant imagine that nazareth church would not refund you any deposit, but even if they didnt, i assume the deposit is pretty minimal?

newlyseliski

Hello and welcome

I know Northwestern College is more Prostestant-Evangelical-Christian and may not be open to allowing a priest to preside at your wedding... or the diocese may not allow you to have a Mass there... I'd check with both the wedding planner there as well as call the Archdiocese of Minneapolis-St. Paul marriage and family life office to discuss your situation!  It looks like it wouldn't be feasible to have a full Mass there with communion, either, due to alcohol being prohibited on campus.

My parents' parish is actually very close to Northwestern (St. John the Baptist in New Brighton) and usually has plenty of open wedding dates from what I understand.  The downside is that it is nowhere near as architecturally stunning as Northwestern's chapel!  St. Charles Borromeo is also nearby and I've heard is a very good parish.  Where is your reception going to be?