Can I get married in a church if I got married in a registry office last time?

[DLCatholic]

I’m Catholic and married my wife who does not follow any faith in a registry office in Ireland. It has become obvious that our marriage isn’t going to work out.

So it has got me wondering, if I was to ever marry again, could I get married in the Church? Is there something that I need to do to be able to get married in the Church?

 

[phil19034]

I’m Catholic and married my wife who does not follow any faith in a registry office in Ireland. It has become obvious that our marriage isn’t going to work out.

So it has got me wondering, if I was to ever marry again, could I get married in the Church? Is there something that I need to do to be able to get married in the Church?

Based on what you write here, I would imagine that the answer would be “yes, you can marry in the Church.” But you will still need to have the Church issue a decree of nullity based on invalid form for your previous marriage.

If everything you say is correct, and assuming there are no other issues that you are not listing here, it should be pretty simple to accomplish this. You would simply speak with your priest and he should be able to help you take care of everything.

However, I do pray that you can save your current marriage. Divorce is never a happy thing.

God Bless

 

[Tis_Bearself]

Please speak to your local pastor about this. He will be best equipped to give you an answer and tell you whether you need an annulment.

 

[1ke]

I’m Catholic and married my wife who does not follow any faith in a registry office in Ireland. It has become obvious that our marriage isn’t going to work out.

So it has got me wondering, if I was to ever marry again, could I get married in the Church? Is there something that I need to do to be able to get married in the Church?

Any Catholic seeking to marry in the Church needs to be declared free to marry by the Church. This is done via the premarital investigation. As a Catholic who previously attempted marriage outside the form for Catholics, without a dispensation, the Church would need to investigate. There is no need to wait until you want to marry, in fact there are many reasons to do it soon.

It doesn’t sound like you have divorced yet. You should consult with your pastor about your current marriage and whether or not you can find a way forward with your spouse. If you can, you can talk to the pastor about being married in the Church. If no reconciliation is possible and you do divorce, afterwards talk to the pastor about what sort of documentation is required in Ireland for what is called a “lack of form”. This is not the same as a decree of nullity, because there is no presumption of a valid marriage when a Catholic marries civilly without a dispensation.

It will all start with you having a sit down appointment with your pastor to explain your situation. Please start there. We can only give generalities here on the forum. Marriage situations have to be investigated individually.

 

[mdgspencer]

Yes talk to a priest.
If you are a Catholic and got a civil marriage, you actually weren’t married at all. So you could go and actually become married now. --But you should check this out.
If this is the case, you should still get a civil divorce. Otherwise you could have bad legal problems if you marry and the law considers you already married.