Catholic Church

moonbee73

Hi Ladies,

I don't know if I am correct in assuming this, hopefully not. My fiance and I really want to be married in a church. My issue is I was married several years ago by a JP and have been divorced for almost 15 years. Does anyone know if I can get married in a catholic church maybe by a minister. I have moved to a new area far from where I grew up so i don't really know the churches or the priests. But I always thougth that once you got divorced you were shunned upon. Thanks for your help again.

BCV513

You're not "shunned" but no, you can't get married in a Catholic church if you're divorced. Your first marriage has to be annulled. And you can't have a minister of a different denomination perform a marriage in a Catholic church. It has to be a priest or a deacon. It's not the divorce that's looked down upon, it's the remarriage. The Catholic church doesn't recognize divorce, so to them you're still married to your first husband. Therefore, they can't marry you to someone else.

LyssaBella

Moon
Are you a Baptised Catholic? If so you will need to get what they call a "Decree of Nullity" Which is like an Annulment "Light" lol
My Husband had to get one as he was married once before. His ex wife is a Baptist and they were married in a Baptist church. But because he himself is a Baptised Catholic the church needs to annul the first marriage in order to grant you another even though it does not formally recognize the first marriage because it was not in a Catholic church. Confusing? Yes I know! lol
But it is a pretty quick process and we were married in a Catholic church a couple weeks ago.
HTH!!

gentel.smith

moonbee, where are you located? are you set on having a catholic church marry you? because I'm sure there are plenty of non-denominational churches that you could get marry at without any problem.

I am getting married at St. Patrick's in Stoneham and was amazed at how welcoming they were, and how much they didn't care that FI and I live together....obviously your situation is a little different, but I would call around and just ask. You never know! 

moonbee73

I'm not opposed to getting married at a non-denomination church. I am in the Norwood area. Lyssa Bella do you know how I could start the process to have the decree of nullity?

LyssaBella

You have to go to a Catholic church, imparticular one you will be getting married in. It is a whole process in the Catholic church for Wedding Preparation.
Or, I would say contact the Archdiocese and ask them what they suggest. That might be a good start.

monbon11

I would echo LyssaBella.  My FI was married previously in a different church, but was baptised Catholic.  We worked with a priest at Our Lady of Victories in Boston (where we are getting married).  He guided us through a "Lack of Form" process, which required ~3-5 pages of paperwork and a fee of $150-200 (sorry I don't remember exact amount because FI wrote the check). 

We were both very relieved to find out that we could still have a Catholic ceremony in the church and did not need to go through the expensive and time consuming annulment process.  As long as the previous union was not a Catholic marriage, an annulment isn't required anymore.  It is my understanding that this is a recent change. 

**All of this applies to churches within the Boston Archdiocese**

BCV513

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_massachusetts-boston_catholic-church?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:89Discussion:a0c7b29e-10b0-47b0-b46b-966c544af2d1Post:ec888faa-81ff-40fa-a1cf-0d8f10a14144">Re: Catholic Church</a>:
[QUOTE]moonbee, where are you located? are you set on having a catholic church marry you? because I'm sure there are plenty of non-denominational churches that you could get marry at without any problem. I am getting married at St. Patrick's in Stoneham and was amazed at how welcoming they were, and how much they didn't care that FI and I live together....obviously your situation is a little different, but I would call around and just ask. You never know! 
Posted by gentel.smith[/QUOTE]

We're planning on getting married at St. Pat's too! Did you have a hard time finding a date? We go to the 4:00 mass on Saturday, and it seems like there's a wedding coming in every week! Also, did you get to pick a priest? We really love Father Mario and would like him to be the one to marry us.

MissNay1019

This is why the catholic churh requires you begin the marraige preparation a year in advance.  It may take a little longer for you to get all of the documentation that you need, but they will certainly work with you and tell you exactly what you have to do.  Start by meeting with the priest who will be doing your marraige prep, they have seen/heard of every scenario!

Jeannek82

Moonbee, I suggest finding a church in your area (you mention Norwood so I would start at St Catherine of Siena) and talk to a priest there about your situation.  They are going to be your best resource for any paperwork you will need to have completed.  The chuch also needs to collect information about you and your fiance (baptism and confirmation certificates) and you will need to participate in Pre Cana before you can be married in a Catholic Church. 

zumbagirl1

My suggestion would be find to a local Episcopal Church--their service is very very similiar to Catholic. mass...ie. peach, Our Father, 3 reading, Gospel, etc.

 I refer them to then as the liberal Catholic church--no offense intended. But they do not turn you away from being divorced, priests can be a woman or man, they can be marriege, gays are welcome,  there is no age limit on receiving communiion and I could go on and on. 

I am getting married at an Episcopal church. Best of luck in whatever you decide.