Can a Widower be a Priest?

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Nelka

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Which if any of these three men would be allowed to be a priest?
  1. A man is married and has no children, his wife dies and some time later he decides to become a priest.
  2. A man is married with children, his wife dies, his children grow into adults and move out, some time later he decides to become a priest.
  3. A man is married and has no children, he finds out that his wife was married and divorced before moving to his country, he applies for an annulment and receives it. Some time later he decides to become a priest.
Thanks.
 
Canon 1042. Section 1 states “a man who has a wife, unless he is legitimately destined to the permanent diaconate;” is “simply impeded from receiving orders”. If the man is a widower, there is no impediment in law to him becoming a priest. With no children to support, or with his children having grown up and being no longer reliant on him, there is no reason he would be denied the opportunity to apply to the priesthood. The same applies in the third scenario (provided that he has obtained a civil divorce in addition to an annulment). However, there is s possibility here of the diocese disallowing it for risk of causing a scandal.
 
I just want to clarify something. Nelka, you wrote, “…would be allowed…” I’m sure you meant, all else being equal, but just to be absolutely clear:

Candidates for the priesthood are evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Not to have any canonical impediments does not, by itself, determine that a man will be ordained or even admitted to seminary. The Canon Law of the Latin Church, Can. 1040 ff, lists impediments to matrimony, but these are occasionally dispensed (Can. 1047). So the presence of canonical impediments does not, in itself, determine *absolutely *that a man will not be ordained. (That said, the impediments are listed there for a reason.)

Now I’m no canon lawyer, but just looking at the code, 1041 mentions a man “who has attempted marriage … while … impeded … by … a woman bound by a valid marriage …”. In the third scenario you mention, a decree of nullity is granted; but the canon above says “a valid marriage,” so I don’t think it applies. None of the situations you list seems to be prohibitive from the standpoint of the Code. There may be other norms, however, which I am not aware of.
 
I’m even aware of at least one case where a man entered what turned out to be a putative marriage and had children. Long after the annulment, the man was accepted into the priesthood, and his children and their mother (his former spouse) all attended his ordination. This was noteworthy since it was a most unusual case.
 
It might also help to clarify that we are strictly talking Roman Rite, correct? In the Eastern rites it’s not uncommon for married men to be ordained to the priest hood.

There have also be a few cases in the Roman Catholic church, as I understand it, where married ministers of other denominations have been allowed to become Catholic priests after converting.
 
The question has been answered, but I would like to add that there are married men who have become priests while still married, although not with small children. These are men who are ordained clergy, typically in the Anglican or Lutheran communions, and have converted to Catholicism.
 
A few years ago, here in Brazil, I remember reading about a widower in his forties, I think, who was the father of several children and was ordained a priest. “The vow of celibacy is no problem at all for me,” he was reported as saying at the time. “Not after twenty years of married life.”
 
BartholomewB said:
A few years ago, here in Brazil, I remember reading about a widower in his forties, I think, who was the father of several children and was ordained a priest. “The vow of celibacy is no problem at all for me,” he was reported as saying at the time. “Not after twenty years of married life.”
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