Catholic Wedding and Best Man/ Maid of Honor

[sulkow82]

Hello,
My fiancé and I are getting married at the end of October. However, we have a question concerning our Best Man and Maid of Honor. Do they have to be practicing Catholics in order to serve in those roles.

My Best Man is my brother who was Baptized but has since left the Church for Atheism. The Maid of Honor (a friend of my fiancé) is Episcopalian. Are these acceptable for their roles?

 

[Erich]

I’m not a canon lawyer, and don’t play one on TV, but I am not aware of any such requirement on Best Man / Maid(Matron) of Honor as there is for Godparent.

(edited to add the following)

Canon Law requires the marriage be officiated by a priest or deacon (under normal circumstances) and also requires two witnesses. It does not state the witnesses must be Catholic.

 

[GeorgiiMichael]

The Maid of Honor and the Best Man have no actual role in the Sacrament of Marriage other than as witnesses to the Sacrament. In other words, you don’t really need them in order to get married. The only witness you need is a Deacon/Priest/Bishop (and that’s because they’re an official within the Church, not because of any special role they play in the Sacrament), everyone else is just there as an extra witness.

The ministers of the Sacrament of Marriage are the bride and groom, everyone else is there to give testimony to the fact that the bride and groom did in fact perform the Sacrament.

In short, no, your Best Man, and your fiancee’s Maid of Honor don’t need to be Catholic in order to fill those roles.

And congratulations on your upcoming Marriage!

 

[105lynne]

I was married in the Maronite rite, and the priest told me that either the best man or maid of honor DID have to be a baptized Catholic. I was told they served as our witnesses to our marriage and actually had to sign our wedding certificate. shrug

 

[Phemie]

I was married in the Maronite rite, and the priest told me that either the best man or maid of honor DID have to be a baptized Catholic. I was told they served as our witnesses to our marriage and actually had to sign our wedding certificate. shrug

They do sign the marriage certificate but the Latin Rite doesn’t require them to be Catholic. Ours weren’t. Perhaps the Maronite Rite has a different requirement.

I’ve never known the question to come up in preparation. There is certainly nothing about their religious affiliation in the prenuptial investigation form for our diocese and, although the bride and groom’s religion is asked on the civil documents we fill out in this province, that of the witnesses doesn’t come up.

 

[Thomas63116]

They do sign the marriage certificate but the Latin Rite doesn’t require them to be Catholic. Ours weren’t. Perhaps the Maronite Rite has a different requirement.

I’ve never known the question to come up in preparation. There is certainly nothing about their religious affiliation in the prenuptial investigation form for our diocese and, although the bride and groom’s religion is asked on the civil documents we fill out in this province, that of the witnesses doesn’t come up.

Is it possible that some dioceses have additional regulations beyond Canon Law? When my wife and I got married, I think our priest told us that at least one of the witnesses who signed the marriage certificate needed to be Catholic. We had several Catholics among the groomsmen/bridesmaids, so we simply picked one of each who was Catholic and had them be the “official” witnesses.

To the OP - I think the best answer is ask your priest next time you meet with him. The only reason it should matter is for signing the marriage certificate. Normally, the best man and maid of honor do that, but you could pick to other members of the wedding party if you need one or both to be Catholic.