Ask the Experts

Home: Second Weddings: Religious Issues:
2nd marriage in or out of church

happy2beme70
New User

Post #1 of 5 (4439 views)

2nd marriage in or out of church

My fiance is not Catholic, but I am. I have never been married before, but he was married to a Catholic out of the church. Do we need to have the marriage annulled as it was never in the Catholic church?

Deacon Bob
INDEPENDANT CATHOLIC DEACON

Post #2 of 5 (4424 views)

Re: [happy2beme70] 2nd marriage in or out of church [In reply to]

Was your fiancee's first marriage a religious or civil ceremony? If religious, what denomination? Had either he or his spouse been married prior to their marriage? If so, was that marriage annulled?

If the first marriage was a civil ceremony and not religious you should be ok. If his spouse was married before and did not have annulment you are probably ok. If neither of these situations exist the answer is a big depends and I need more information. It is always best to check with the Pastor of the Church where you would like to be married.

Best wishes to you and God Bless, Deacon Bob
Deacon Bob Tousey
Independant catholic Deacon

happy2beme70
New User

Post #3 of 5 (4418 views)

Re: [Deacon Bob] 2nd marriage in or out of church [In reply to]

His first marriage was to a Catholic in a civil ceremony in Nevada. Neither of them had been married previously. I have never been married. His ex-wife is a practicing Catholic, as am I.

happy2beme70
New User

Post #4 of 5 (4417 views)

Re: [happy2beme70] 2nd marriage in or out of church [In reply to]

Also, my fiancee has never been baptized in any religion.

Deacon Bob
INDEPENDANT CATHOLIC DEACON

Post #5 of 5 (4415 views)

Re: [happy2beme70] 2nd marriage in or out of church [In reply to]

The not being baptized creates another issue. As the first marriage was a civil ceremony it was never recognized by the church and should not be an impediment to your marriage in the Church. However, the Church may require your financee to be both Baptized and Confirmed prior to agreeing to perform the wedding. This means he would have to go through the RICA program. He will not be received into the Church until Holy Saturday 2006 at the Easter vigil. So do not plan your wedding before then if that is what you want to do. You may find that other Christian churches would also require Baptism prior to performing the Wedding. You may find Independent Clergy who will be willing to do this. However, if you are planning on having children and raising them in the Church I would recommend that he consider going through the RICA program and join the Church, but that is a decision only he can make. Blessings.
Deacon Bob Tousey
Independant catholic Deacon