Catholic Weddings

HELP - Catholic school raised fiance didn't make confirmation

Hi,
I'm getting all stressed out because I went to call my fiance's former Catholic school and just found out that he wasn't confirmed. His family moved when he was in middle school so only his oldest sister got confirmed, which I didn't find out until this afternoon when the lady from the rectory and said she couldn't find any record for him getting confirmed. So, I text'd his mom and she said his sister said she was the only one that got confirmed. We thought he did, so we told the priest marrying us that we both had all our sacraments. 

I know that people who are NOT catholic have to take all these classes to basically convert in order to become confirmed. But does anyone know if a Catholic who attends mass and belongs to a church also have to do the classes? I'm getting so stressed I feel like so many issues with the church wedding. I am trying to do everything the right way bc my mom had to get a convalidation like 11 years later bc my parents had a JOP wedding, and I want to get it done right the first time. 

I literally was crying earlier bc I know he won't want to take the classes. But its important to me that we get married in the church and raise our children catholic. My best friend who is also getting married in the church and is Catholic said it shouldn't be too huge of a deal and to talk to the Priest who is marrying us. Her fiance is not Catholic nor plans to be. I feel like I'm having so many issues and we're both Catholic! It took us nearly 3 months just to join the church so I'm getting so stressed about all this stuff not working out properly! Thank Goodness our wedding isn't until next year.

Re: HELP - Catholic school raised fiance didn't make confirmation

  • edited July 2014
    You should speak with the Church ASAP. My FI was not confirmed when we got engaged and had to go through the RCIA courses as part of our marriage prep- I did not because I am not converting (Baptist) but definitely talk to your priest. I will add that even though FI was raised Catholic, he still found the classes to help grow and strengthen his faith.

    ETAI will add after reading your last comment that talking with your priest would be good to get an idea to help you and your FI get on the same page...given his comment about getting married at the reception venue, it sounds to me (with no added details of course so this is all assumption) that he may not be as committed to celebrating the wedding Mass as you are. The good news is you said your wedding is next year so you have time. 
  • GB520GB520 member
    First Anniversary First Comment 5 Love Its Name Dropper
    Ok thank you. I feel a little better about it but I don't think he's going to be happy about taking extra classes, especially because it will probably be an additional cost. Do you remember if it cost anything extra other than the Pre-canna & God's Plan for a Joy Filled marriage class costs? He already said to me yesterday why can't we just get married at our reception venue? but I know if its not in the church its not VALID, so I don't want to do that. It will bother my conscience.
  • Definitely talk to your priest, and try to relax.  I know it can be stressful to realize you have to take care of another detail, but I think you will appreciate, as you said, "doing it right" the first time.

    I didn't have to pay anything to take RCIA, and I don't think it costs extra, but that could vary from parish to parish.  But when people start talking about church fees, I always wonder what they're paying for things like flowers and food, which are usually WAY more expensive (I'm not criticizing you, I'm just trying to give you some perspective -- we balked at paying $90 for Billings classes, until we realized $90 was way cheaper than an unplanned pregnancy).

    Also, you can still get married if FI is not confirmed, so if he's balking now and it would add stress or delay your wedding, talk to your priest about his options for being confirmed later.
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  • GB520GB520 member
    First Anniversary First Comment 5 Love Its Name Dropper
    Oh, I didn't even know that it was an option to get confirmed later. LOL at your unplanned pregnancy comment. I just am getting so stressed! I am going to call the priest marrying us sometime today about it and find out what exactly he needs to do. I'm hoping he will be able to just do it at our home parish.

    My mom said to have him on the spot, like all three of us meet with the priest and he's not going to say no I'm not doing those classes or anything bc the priest is there. My best friend said basically the same thing about her fiance who is not converting to Catholicism. Anytime they have previously discussed raising their kids catholic he was indifferent, but when they were with the priest discussing it of course he said yes, bc he knew she would freak out if they didn't get married in the church. I know my fiance he's always helping our neighbors and everything, he pretty much can't say no to people (EXCEPT ME OF COURSE WHY IS IT ALWAYS THAT WAY??! LOL) so I am hoping that when we meet with the priest he's like yes I will do those classes. :) 

    The church was something I budgeted like $1200 for but its really not going to be that much, probably like $680, plus I will tip the priest.. Since we're getting married in an area that I grew up in, he's giving us a local price deal. I don't even care about the fees I just know its one more thing FI will gripe about. But whatever, he will have to deal. I am too much of a worry wort to be stressing about our marriage not being valid in God's eyes which is why I was so upset last night!! Thank you so much for your advice!!!!!!
  • Obviously it would be ideal for him to be confirmed ASAP, I'm just saying it's not (AFAIK) a requirement.
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  • You don't have to be confirmed in order to be married, but here's what the Church mindset is: people who are fully initiated have been baptized, confirmed, and received first Eucharist. All the other sacraments presume that a person has been fully initiated. If you look at people over the age of seven who celebrate at Easter Vigil, all three sacraments are given at that one liturgy.

    That would all be nice if we did it the Orthodox way and celebrated those three sacraments all at once with a baby, but in the Latin (Roman) church, the sacraments got spread out. Most typically, baptism happens to babies--or very young children, First Eucharist about age 7--with Reconciliation thrown in there as well, and Confirmation somewhere at age 12-16, depending on the diocese.

    So, several paths to full initiation. Your fiance got the first two, Baptism and First Eucharist, and missed on Confirmation because of a family move (and the place they moved to might have celebrated at a different age--so no easy fit re: the education).

    It's not the school's job to make sure someone is confirmed; that belongs to the parish.

    Now that your husband is an adult, he should be making the phone calls and getting the information he needs. You're not his mom. Nor should his mom be involved when you two sit down with the priest. You two are adults, responsible for your own spiritual growth and practice. Bringing Mom into it is manipulation.
  • GB520GB520 member
    First Anniversary First Comment 5 Love Its Name Dropper
    Haha. Well if you must know, I was discharged from the hospital after being in there admitted and staying for 5 days for a small bowel blockage, so I am home recovering (and bored) and my fiance works 6 am to 7 pm most days, therefore, I was calling places yesterday getting the info the priest has requested from us. The place I called yesterday said he needs to call and pick up the items himself, so I relayed that information to him saying if they want you to go to NYC during business hours that he will need to explain his work schedule and ask if they can mail it.

    Not sure why you think I'm being manipulative when I simply asked my mother in law if she knew if there was another place that he may have gotten it done at besides the church they went to in NY since they moved. She has not been involved with our discussions with the priest when we met with him, nor will she be. I don't really like being accused of being manipulative when I'm simply doing what the priest has told us: which was to do to get the records. I already told him they need him to call for his baptismal certificates. 

    Sounds like you have a chip on your shoulder. I am just looking for advise here, not trying to be schooled on my relationship and my fiance's relationship with God. Maybe your husband/FI would do that himself, but I am the one who is more interested in having a church wedding than him, so I am doing the leg work. No need to be snarky!!! I already have enough stress from recovering from this hospital stay. And if that was indeed not your intention, my apologies in advance. :) Hope you have a good day. 
  • I think when you said "all three of you meeting with the priest" this got misunderstood as you, FI, mother and priest, not you, Fi and priest.  I read it the former way my first time too, until I got to your last post:)

    A
    lso, about prices, look up what a non-religious officiant and venue would cost if your FI thinks the church is too much.  I balked a little myself at the price, until I realized in my area, just the officiant would cost more that the entire church part of our wedding in my area.  Including, not just the church fee, but the organist, cantor and tip for the priest.  

    A
    lso, not sure if this has been mentioned yet, but from what I've seen, the classes are shorter if you've been baptized Catholic and are just receiving confirmation.  And we were very happy with the marriage prep classes.  They provided a great discussion and a lot of good materials (books, papers, etc).  
  • It's worth speaking to your priest.  I converted to Catholicism and because I'd done a significant amount of studying on my own, they let me skip the classes and instead meet several times (maybe 5-6) with the RCIA coordinator.  Your fiance might be able to do something similar, particularly if he attends Mass regularly and clearly is a practicing Catholic.  
  • You can be married in the Church even if he hasn't been confirmed. If you are both baptised Catholics it will be fine. My FI wasn't confirmed, at least he can't recall it, because he went to a new school around that time and never attended CCD. We told the priest and he encouraged FI to go through RICA ASAP if we discover he indeed has not been confirmed but at this point it is probably not going to happen until after the wedding due to schedules. FI has to travel and is a business owner making Mass, Holy days, and our pre-marital classes are already extremely difficult for him. Just be honest and tell the Priest you made a mistake.
  • Depending on your Dioceses, you both don't HAVE to be Catholic or confirmed. FI is non-denomination Christian and we're getting married in the Catholic church. Your SO just needs to be baptized though. My FI needs to get baptized again because the Marines don't have his paperwork. 
  • JMS62415 said:
    Depending on your Dioceses, you both don't HAVE to be Catholic or confirmed. FI is non-denomination Christian and we're getting married in the Catholic church. Your SO just needs to be baptized though. My FI needs to get baptized again because the Marines don't have his paperwork. 
    This is all sorts of misinformation.

    It is not dependent on diocese. A Catholic may marry a non-Catholic, even a non-Baptized person. The correct dispensations and permissions must be given. 

    According to Canon law, a Catholic should be confirmed (a sacrament of initiation) before receiving a vocational sacrament if one can do so without grave inconvenience. 

    People do NOT get baptized again. The only time a person might be given a conditional baptism is if they are entering the church, and they have a strong belief they were baptized, but unsure of the formula used and lack documentation. 

    Your fiance actually can't get baptized again unless he is becoming Catholic, and the conditional baptism has specific words used (if you are not baptized already....). They won't due a conditional baptism simply because of lost paperwork, there are more variables. 

    Canon 1065.1 Catholics who have not yet received the sacrament of confirmation are to receive it before being admitted to marriage, if this can be done without grave inconvenience.
  • JMS62415 said:
    Depending on your Dioceses, you both don't HAVE to be Catholic or confirmed. FI is non-denomination Christian and we're getting married in the Catholic church. Your SO just needs to be baptized though. My FI needs to get baptized again because the Marines don't have his paperwork. 
    This is all sorts of misinformation.

    It is not dependent on diocese. A Catholic may marry a non-Catholic, even a non-Baptized person. The correct dispensations and permissions must be given. 

    According to Canon law, a Catholic should be confirmed (a sacrament of initiation) before receiving a vocational sacrament if one can do so without grave inconvenience. 

    People do NOT get baptized again. The only time a person might be given a conditional baptism is if they are entering the church, and they have a strong belief they were baptized, but unsure of the formula used and lack documentation. 

    Your fiance actually can't get baptized again unless he is becoming Catholic, and the conditional baptism has specific words used (if you are not baptized already....). They won't due a conditional baptism simply because of lost paperwork, there are more variables. 

    Canon 1065.1 Catholics who have not yet received the sacrament of confirmation are to receive it before being admitted to marriage, if this can be done without grave inconvenience.
    Well, then talk to my priest about it because according to him, my Fiance does have to get baptized again since there is no paperwork verifying his original baptism and yes, he does need to be baptized. They wouldn't marry my sister and her husband unless he was baptized. My sister is a cradle Catholic but he's non-denominational. He was already baptized so it didn't matter. Besides, my FI isn't getting baptized in the Catholic church. 

    I wasn't talking about two Catholics being confirmed or baptized before marriage. I was talking about one confirmed Catholic marrying a non-Catholic. 
  • JMS, those should have been conditional baptisms, but I know some people don't read the fine print--including some ordained people.
  • JMS-- its flat out wrong. A Catholic can marry a non-baptized person. It can be a valid, but non-sacramental marriage. There is permission/dispensations needed, but it can be done. 
  • JMS-- its flat out wrong. A Catholic can marry a non-baptized person. It can be a valid, but non-sacramental marriage. There is permission/dispensations needed, but it can be done. 


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    Right, but I want it to be a sacrament so therefore, he needs to be baptized. 
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