Can a Protestant communion service be performed at a Catholic-Protestant wedding?

[mom_of_bride]

My daughter wants to wed a Catholic man this summer. We have agreed to have a Catholic wedding but I am concerned about communion. Is it possible to have our minister perform our communion service for the non-Catholics in the Catholic church for the wedding? I do not mind having two segregated communion lines but I do have a problem being denied a portion of my daughter’s wedding because I and her family are not Catholic. This is causing a severe strain on what should be a very happy time for a wonderful couple.

 

[Michelle_Arnold]

Ordinarily speaking, no, a Protestant minister cannot perform a communion service for Protestants during a Catholic nuptial Mass. What can be done is that the couple can marry in a Catholic nuptial service that does not include a Mass. This procedure is usually recommended for Catholics marrying non-Catholics to avoid exactly the problem you are now facing. A Catholic nuptial liturgy outside of Mass can be performed by either a Catholic priest or Catholic deacon and is just as valid a ceremony as a nuptial Mass. At such a service, Communion is not distributed and so no one will be “left out” of receiving Communion at the wedding. The Catholic side of the family is free to attend a Mass either the evening before or the morning of the wedding if they wish to attend a Mass in conjunction with their son’s wedding.