It can be a forced decision–either by the parents or by circumstances. Love isn’t the only reason why people get married (well, the other reasons aren’t really just).
To regularize an invalid marriage by convalidation, the active participation of both parties is required.
Do you by chance know which conditions would qualify for “Sanatio in Radice”? I have never heard of this!
The conditions get a little bit technical. If you would describe why your marriage is considered invalid, it would help. If you would rather research this on your own, you can take a look at:
My first marriage was when I was young and lasted all of 6 weeks. He was a violent man who had been married and divorced several times before we were married (here is a shock - we were married in a “chapel” in Las Vegas - no lectures needed here!). I have never heard from him since and would have no way to contact him for an annulment. Even if I could contact him, I would not do so - the man was a stalker and I have a family to protect now. Also, due to the briefness of the marriage and the fact that we lived nowhere near anyone who knew me I would have no witnesses for the Tribunal… My second marriage ended when my husband died, so there is no question of annulment there. My third marriage (and the one that is truly the BEST) is to a man who has no connection with any church, yet is supportive of my choices but is not interested in participating in a ceremony (does not want to appear hypocritical due to his beliefs). The bottom line is that I want to do what is necessary to come back into communion with the church and have received quite a variety of answers about what I need to do to accomplish this.
Would you please clarify how this affects my situation?
Just a few more questions, if you don’t mind:
YES - I was baptised as an infant - First Holy Communion when I was 15 - never confirmed.
I’m a little unclear on the particulars here (e.g., were you rebaptized in the Baptist church, how old were you at your first marriage), but it looks very likely that you qualify for a “lack of canonical form” annulment for your first marriage. That is, you were considered to be Catholic at the time, but you did not marry in the Catholic Church. For this kind of annulment, your ex need not be contacted. All you need is a copy of your marriage license (to prove you didn’t marry in the Catholic Church), a copy of your final divorce decree, and a recent copy of your sacramental record (to prove that you did not receive a dispensation to marry in a Las Vegas chapel). The paperwork should go through in a few weeks to a month.
Excellent! In this case, the next step would be to apply for the Sanatio in Radice as described above. After that, you need to go to Confession, and you are back in the good graces of the Catholic Church, able to receive Holy Communion.
Thank you so much for your reply! I now need to figure out how to get a hold of the records you mentioned. Seriously, after 20 years I could not even tell you WHERE we were married in LV , let alone know how to get a hold of the license (I cannot even remember the date - seriously). As far as my current Sacramental Record, how would Igo about that? I live in a very rural area and do not even have a local parish that I am able to attend. We are hoping to move into “civilization” within the year…Would I contact the parish where I had my First Holy Communion?
You’re very welcome!
I had that problem as well for my annulment. In my case, I had to try both the city and the county that the city was in. Just keep trying until you find it.
It’s usually at the parish where you were baptized. Good luck!
Not really. You need a copy issued within the last six months. If you bring in the original copies, the tribunal should be able to use that information to figure out where to send away for a current copy.