Are you allowed marry in a church if you are divorced from a civil wedding?

[kevlaw]

Hello, I am a catholic, and I know that as catholics, it is not allowed to remarry if you are already married in a church and in the eyes of the lord. However what if a person is married in a civil ceremony first and has a civil divorce, are they still allowed marry in a church at a later point in their lives? Technically would that person not ever be married in the eyes of the lord? An annulment would not work for a civil wedding either would it?
Thank you

 

[Fr.Charles_Grondin]

Catholics are required to be married in the Church:

Can. 1108 §1. Only those marriages are valid which are contracted before the local ordinary, pastor, or a priest or deacon delegated by either of them, who assist, and before two witnesses…

A Catholic who civilly marries outside the Church is not in a valid marriage. Therefore if they subsequently get civilly divorced, they would be free to be married in the Church.