Clarification of Prenuptial Forms Needed

[PetersBride]

Hello,

I am brand new to this site and hoping that someone can clarify some questions I have. I met with my parish priest yesterday. He has agreed to marry me and my fiance. The priest gave me the paperwork needed for the marriage to take place. My husband-to-be is also Catholic and lives in the UK. I live in the US. The confusion I have is the “Archdioces of Boston Prenuptial Investigation”. I was a bit overwhelmed with the paperwork yesterday and left my meeting with the Father without being clear on how to proceed with this document. My fiance needs to have an “Affidavit Regarding Baptism and Freedom to Marry” completed. It appears that the “Prenuptial Invesitgation” form is to be filled out by both me and my fiance on page 1 and on the back (page 2), the “petition for testimonial letter” must be filled out by my fiance’s parish priest. The next section, entitled “Testimonial Letter” appears to need to be filled out by a superior in the diocese in which my fiance attends mass. Is this correct? Thank you for any clarification you can offer.

 

[SeekerJen]

I would call the diocesan office in charge of marriage paperwork. I think the paperwork differs depending on diocese, so I wouldn’t want to give wrong advice. I doubt ours here is much better- our pastor filled most of it out for us to save us the hassle.

 

[1ke]

That sounds right.

If you have questions about a UK/US marriage I suggest you contact Lizanne who posts on here. Her DH is from the UK and she from the US.

She is very knowledgeable about international courtship/marriage prep since she went through it.

She’s not in the Boston diocese though, she’s in Michigan I think.

 

[Phemie]

Hello,

I am brand new to this site and hoping that someone can clarify some questions I have. I met with my parish priest yesterday. He has agreed to marry me and my fiance. The priest gave me the paperwork needed for the marriage to take place. My husband-to-be is also Catholic and lives in the UK. I live in the US. The confusion I have is the “Archdioces of Boston Prenuptial Investigation”. I was a bit overwhelmed with the paperwork yesterday and left my meeting with the Father without being clear on how to proceed with this document. My fiance needs to have an “Affidavit Regarding Baptism and Freedom to Marry” completed. It appears that the “Prenuptial Invesitgation” form is to be filled out by both me and my fiance on page 1 and on the back (page 2), the “petition for testimonial letter” must be filled out by my fiance’s parish priest. The next section, entitled “Testimonial Letter” appears to need to be filled out by a superior in the diocese in which my fiance attends mass. Is this correct? Thank you for any clarification you can offer.

Yes, the Petition for testimonial letter is filled out by the priest and the Testimonial letter comes from the Bishop/Vicar General at which point the paperwork would be sent back to your priest.

I would think that if your fiance met with his priest in the UK the forms could be filled out there. They may not have the “Affidavit - freedom to marry form” as that is not used everywhere. I deal with marriage documents all the time and had never even heard of this Affidavit until a few months ago when the mother of a bride-to-be called saying she had to fill one out and nobody in our parish knew what it was – we had to have it forwarded to us from the diocese where her daughter lived.

 

[psr13]

The freedom to marry thing is probably a paper that needs to be filled out either in front of a priest or a notary stating that the person isn’t married and lists the previous marriages on it. Now, if we need that in this new Archdiocese of mine I’m going to be in trouble. We’re trying to get ours convalidated once dh gets his annulment, and my family flat out refuses to sign. They think Catholic rules are crazy.

 

[Phemie]

The freedom to marry thing is probably a paper that needs to be filled out either in front of a priest or a notary stating that the person isn’t married and lists the previous marriages on it. Now, if we need that in this new Archdiocese of mine I’m going to be in trouble. We’re trying to get ours convalidated once dh gets his annulment, and my family flat out refuses to sign. They think Catholic rules are crazy.

The affidavit is the statement by other people (the parents are the obvious choice) who know you well and can attest that, as far as they know, you’ve never been married or that your previous marriage (if such existed) has been declared null or was ended by the death of your spouse.

It need not be your parents, it could be a neighbor who has always known you or a godparent or a close friend. It more or less replaces the publication of banns previous to the wedding.

The object of publishing banns was so that anyone who knew why the couple couldn’t be married had the opportunity to come forward and say so. In today’s mobile society, where fellow parishioners may know nothing about you beyond your first day in their parish, banns are pretty useless. The last time we published banns in our parish (at the request of the home parish) it was for a person who’d been baptized here but whose parents had moved when he was a child. Nobody knew him, his parents or his fiancée so the formal publishing of banns was a useless exercise.

In a way this affidavit is not much different from having to attest that you’re free to marry when you apply for a marriage license from the State.

 

[Leonius]

I live in the UK and am arranging to marry in the US. I approached my parish priest to get the necessaries what he gave me was one form on which he filled out a certificate of baptism, marriage and freedom to marry.

He also told me that the priest in the US who would be marrying us was the one who was supposed to request it , the form even had a part which was meant to be filled out by the priest requesting the information so I know what he says was right. He shouldn’t really give it to me luckily he has known me since I was a child.

I have since emailed the document to the parish in the US and they have accepted it for my part. My fiancée who is in the US got the same documents sent from her parish and that was all the documents we needed.

There was also an initial form I had to fill out when I was last over there but that was just general information about me and my desire to marry etc.

That is all the forms as far as I know, the marriage is going to be in Texas I don’t know it there are differences in other parts of the US.

 

[psr13]

The affidavit is the statement by other people (the parents are the obvious choice) who know you well and can attest that, as far as they know, you’ve never been married or that your previous marriage (if such existed) has been declared null or was ended by the death of your spouse.

It need not be your parents, it could be a neighbor who has always known you or a godparent or a close friend. It more or less replaces the publication of banns previous to the wedding.

The object of publishing banns was so that anyone who knew why the couple couldn’t be married had the opportunity to come forward and say so. In today’s mobile society, where fellow parishioners may know nothing about you beyond your first day in their parish, banns are pretty useless. The last time we published banns in our parish (at the request of the home parish) it was for a person who’d been baptized here but whose parents had moved when he was a child. Nobody knew him, his parents or his fiancée so the formal publishing of banns was a useless exercise.

In a way this affidavit is not much different from having to attest that you’re free to marry when you apply for a marriage license from the State.

Yep, I don’t really have family friends who have known me my entire life. There is the problem.

 

[Phemie]

Usually at the initial interview there is a form that the priest fills out with the help of the couple, things like their name, address, parents name and address, freedom to marry and marrying of their own free will, knowledge about what marriage entails: permanence, faithfulness, etc. For this each person is interviewed separately, under oath.

At this time the duties of the Catholic who wishes to contract a mixed-marriage or marriage to a non-baptized is explained and the promise to do all in his/her power to raise children in the Catholic faith is made. Non-Catholic is informed of the promise.