Civil Marriage - without cohabitation - before Catholic wedding

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Catholicus92

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Hello, for legal reasons me and my fiancee have to marry in civil some months before marry at Church. We read that couples who marry at the civil cannot receive the Communion until get marry at Church. We know that civil marriage isn’t the Sacrament of Marriage, so we will live the single’s chastity, as we are doing so far, up to get marry at Church. Would we be able to receive the Communion?
 
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you can stjill receive communin even if you have a civil marriage license
 
While it’s great to know that you are not planning to cohabitate before your Catholic wedding, you really need to speak to your priest to make sure whatever you plan on doing with your civil wedding is not going to affect your ability to be married in church in the manner you want. This would depend on the country you are in, so it’s better to ask your priest because he’ll know best the situation in your country.
 
I second all that Tis_Bearself has said.

Your case seem rather complicated as you mention legal reasons.

There is the objective sin of marrying outside the church (as an example a registry office ceremony without the intention to marry in the Church is the usual situation indicated here I would hazard to guess) - which I realize is different to your stated situation of needing to marry civilly for legal reasons prior to the Sacrament of Matrimony.

So for this reason, you really do need to seek the counsel of your parish priest in this matter, especially more so if you are in another country.
 
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In USA, the problem is once you are civilly married, you are married and the priest can’t marry you again. This may affect your wedding plans. Please talk to your priest.
 
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The rite of convalidation is an option, it’s what we did right after my confirmation. Seems easier to just get married in the Church though. If I could guess, it has to do with immigration, right? Just speculation of course.
 
Tis_Bearself said:
In USA, the problem is once you are civilly married, you are married and the priest can’t marry you again. This may affect your wedding plans. Please talk to your priest.
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Well… this is true and false at the same time.

The priest can do a convalidation, which is the exact same rubrics as the normal wedding. He can even do it as a nuptial mass.

@Catholicus92

I’m not sure what kind of legal reasons have caused you to get married civilly in the United States, but speak please with your priest.

He needs to know exactly what you are doing so he can properly assist you with the Sacrament of Matrimony.

God Bless
 
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phil19034 said:
The priest can do a convalidation, which is the exact same thing as the normal wedding.
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The priest needs to be the one deciding how he wants to do the convalidation and if he has any other issue with it. It’s not for us to be telling the OP that what he wants to do is going to be perfectly okay and just the same as a normal wedding. We also don’t have all the details of why this is legally necessary right now or whether the priest would prefer to do something else like move the actual wedding up.

The OP needs to discuss this with his priest and not have people on here telling him what’s okay for him to do.
 
Tis_Bearself said:
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phil19034:
The priest can do a convalidation, which is the exact same thing as the normal wedding.
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The priest needs to be the one deciding how he wants to do the convalidation and if he has any other issue with it. It’s not for us to be telling the OP that what he wants to do is going to be perfectly okay and just the same as a normal wedding. We also don’t have all the details of why this is legally necessary right now or whether the priest would prefer to do something else like move the actual wedding up.

The OP needs to discuss this with his priest and not have people on here telling him what’s okay for him to do.
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Right, which is why I said he needs to talk to his priest.

But theoretically, there is no reason why a wedding Mass cannot happen. The convalidation is not a different rite.

The only reason it’s typically small is because usually the bride and groom already had their big, fancy wedding with many guests. So they typically have a tiny convalidation.

But if they didn’t have their large, fancy wedding, there is theoretically no reason why they can’t have a wedding mass for the convalidation.

However, as you said, the OP must talk to the priest. There could be something with this stituation that could make the priest uncomfortable, etc
 
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The OP should contact the priest first and foremost. I cant imagine a law in the US requiring this.
 
The Church acknowledges the right of governments to issue secular laws regarding marriage providing they are not contradictory to natural and divine law. In some European countries the state requires a separate civil ceremony in addition to any religious one, and some require it first. However, these are usually arranged so that the civil ceremony is on one day and the religious one on the next.

You do not say why there has to be this delay. Of course, you have the right to withhold that information on a public forum. However, you cannot expect people to be able to answer your question with information withheld. Therefore, what you need to do is go to see your priest with whom you can discuss this matter in confidence.
 
My wife and I , in order to qualify for a VA mortgage for our first house, were married by a Judge who happened to be one of my patients. We then went back to our respective homes and purchased our first
home. We were married in a Catholic Church and moved into our home 5 months later.
Our parents and friends never knew.
 
Catholicus92 said:
Hello, for legal reasons me and my fiancee have to marry in civil some months before marry at Church. We read that couples who marry at the civil cannot receive the Communion until get marry at Church. We know that civil marriage isn’t the Sacrament of Marriage, so we will live the single’s chastity, as we are doing so far, up to get marry at Church. Would we be able to receive the Communion?
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In the Apostolic Exhortation Familaris Consortio, St. Pope John Paul II has this to say (1981):
C) Catholics in Civil Marriages
There are increasing cases of Catholics who for ideological or practical reasons, prefer to contract a merely civil marriage, and who reject or at least defer religious marriage. Their situation cannot of course be likened to that of people simply living together without any bond at all, because in the present case there is at least a certain commitment to a properly-defined and probably stable state of life, even though the possibility of a future divorce is often present in the minds of those entering a civil marriage. By seeking public recognition of their bond on the part of the State, such couples show that they are ready to accept not only its advantages but also its obligations. Nevertheless, not even this situation is acceptable to the Church.

The aim of pastoral action will be to make these people understand the need for consistency between their choice of life and the faith that they profess, and to try to do everything possible to induce them to regularize their situation in the light of Christian principle. While treating them with great charity and bringing them into the life of the respective communities, the pastors of the Church will regrettably not be able to admit them to the sacraments.
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http://w2.vatican.va/content/john-p..._jp-ii_exh_19811122_familiaris-consortio.html
 
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So, to get a loan you created this situation? What prevented you from getting married by the Church? Hopefully the priest knew when he signed/or didn’t sign the papers. Forgive me but it sounds as if you are bragging about tricking the system and your family…
 
Tis_Bearself said:
In USA, the problem is once you are civilly married, you are married and the priest can’t marry you again.
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That’s not true. A convalidation is precisely a wedding ceremony, complete with the I do’s and everything. It doesn’t have civil effect, but it does validate the marriage in the eyes of the Church.
Tis_Bearself said:
The priest needs to be the one deciding how he wants to do the convalidation and if he has any other issue with it. It’s not for us to be telling the OP that what he wants to do is going to be perfectly okay and just the same as a normal wedding.
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Agreed. But, you seemed to be saying that the priest couldn’t convalidate an invalid marriage. That just ain’t so…

And, of course, you and Phil are correct in pointing out that the priest will have to conduct the normal pre-marital interview, in order to determine – among other things – freedom to marry, the lack of impediments in general, and the presence of valid consent.
 
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And some Pastors/Dioceses have restrictions on convalidations. It is not unheard of for their to be a waiting period between civil marriage and convalidation.
 
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