Convalidated Marriage?

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SavedByFaith

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I saw this phrase on another thread -

"I can’t recieve communion because my marriage hadn’t been convalidated"

What does this mean? I was raised and married in a Protestant Church, might I have this same problem if I joined the RCC Church and how might it be rectified?
 
That means that the marriage has not been “blessed” in the Catholic Church. They were married outside the Church. In order to recieve the Eucharist, they are to have their marriage blessed.

Love and peace

Mom of 5
 
Mom of 5:
In order to recieve the Eucharist, they are to have their marriage blessed.Mom of 5
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What if only one party to the marriage is converting to the RCC? Does that present a problem for that person?
 
If only one party is converting, they must still have the marriage blessed. They must agree to raise children of that union in the Catholic Church. Really no different than a Catholic marrying a non-Catholic. Marriage in the Catholic Church by priest or deacon and promise to raise chidren of the marriage in the Church. Hopefully the non-converting spouse will agree to having the marriage blessed. They need to talk to a priest.

Love and peace

Mom of 5
 
If they were both baptized Protestant and married in a Protestant church, the marriage is valid. If a Catholic was to get married in a Protestant ceremony, then the marriage is invalid.

If the first situation applies, then I’m not sure what they would do if one or both parties converts. I wouldn’t think that a convalidation would be needed, since the church recognized their marriage from the start. But maybe.
 
As this thread deals with marriage, it has been moved to Liturgy and Sacraments.
 
They must agree to raise children of that union in the Catholic Church.
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The exact Canon (1125) states:
1/ the Catholic party is to declare that he or she is prepared to remove dangers of defecting from the faith and is to make a sincere promise to do all in his or her power so that all offspring are baptized and brought up in the Catholic Church;
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vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/__P41.HTM

So say there’s a jewish couple and the wife decides to convert to Catholicism. The husband respects her decision but doesn’t want his children to be raised Catholic and would (probably) divorce her if she tried to have them baptized. Now, I believe the woman would still be able to be baptized into the Catholic faith and have her marriage convalidated (since she did everything in her power to have her offspring baptized) even though she wouldn’t (at the present time) be able to raise any present/future children in the Catholic faith. At least that’s what I understand. Maybe someone more knowledgable on Canon Law can help.

In other words, it doesn’t seem that the Catholic Church would prevent a person from being baptized into the Church because their spouse was unwilling to raise their children in the Catholic Faith. The person would just have to do everything in their power to have their offspring baptized and if their spouse ever consented it would seem that they would have a grave obligation to do so.
 
So…

My wife and I were raised Protestant (1 Baptist, 1 Methodist), baptized Protestant, married legally by a Baptist minister IN a Methodist church, and then I decide to convert to the RCC. My wife wants no part of it but I do the best that I can to convince her to join me in this most holy pursuit. She refuses. I can join the RCC with no snags?? Is this correct?

P.S. Our only child is 26 yrs old so is of no consequence in the matter, he is as raised as he is gonna get. Is this correct?
 
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SavedByFaith:
I saw this phrase on another thread -

"I can’t recieve communion because my marriage hadn’t been convalidated"

What does this mean? I was raised and married in a Protestant Church, might I have this same problem if I joined the RCC Church and how might it be rectified?
Click to expand...
every marriage situation is unique, if the situation arises the first thing you would do is talk to the priest and give all the facts of your particular situation. In general, the Catholic Church considers every marriage valid until proven otherwise, and marriage between baptized persons to be sacramental unless proven otherwise. You cannot generalize based on someone else’s situation.

the people who need convalidation are generally Catholics, who are bound by Church law on marriage, who marry without following those laws, and often need no more than a simple blessing to rectify the situation. Sad, because these situations are keeping them from the sacraments, and could be taken care of so easily. Complications arise when either party to a marriage has been divorced and remarried.
 
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SavedByFaith:
I saw this phrase on another thread -

"I can’t recieve communion because my marriage hadn’t been convalidated"

What does this mean? I was raised and married in a Protestant Church, might I have this same problem if I joined the RCC Church and how might it be rectified?
Click to expand...
The situation comes up when a Catholic has attempted Marriage invalidly. It does not apply when both people are non-Catholic and marry validly for the first time according to the rules of their church. Such a Marriage is accepted as valid and Sacramental by the Catholic Church.

If it is a second marriage for either non-Catholic then an annulment process is necessary and then a new exchange of vows.
 
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SavedByFaith:
So…

My wife and I were raised Protestant (1 Baptist, 1 Methodist), baptized Protestant, married legally by a Baptist minister IN a Methodist church, and then I decide to convert to the RCC. My wife wants no part of it but I do the best that I can to convince her to join me in this most holy pursuit. She refuses. I can join the RCC with no snags?? Is this correct?

P.S. Our only child is 26 yrs old so is of no consequence in the matter, he is as raised as he is gonna get. Is this correct?
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If your Marriage is recognized as valid by the Methodist and Baptist church and it is the only marriage for both of you, then the Marriage is valid and Sacramental. If either of you seeks full union with the Catholic Church nothing needs to be done except to record the Marriage in the new Catholics Sacramental record. Nothing prevents you from entering into or completing the “RCIA” process.
 
Br. Rich SFO:
If your Marriage is recognized as valid by the Methodist and Baptist church and it is the only marriage for both of you, then the Marriage is valid and Sacramental.
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Sorry for all the questions but I had never heard this and it kinda concerns me somewhat. I have only been married once (as described above). My wife was married once before, divorced and then married me 18 years ago. Our marriage is valid in the eyes of both the Methodist and Baptist churches. If I (and only I) want to join the RCC would I be affected in this pursuit? I gather from your answer that if we both wanted to join then we would have an issue resulting from her prior marriage BUT if it was only myself that wanted to convert (as I suspect will be the case) - would this cause an issue for me? Thanks for the help.
 
Your marriage will **not **need convalidating if:

Neither of you was Catholic when you were married;

Neither of you had been divorced before your marriage.

If your wife **was **Catholic when you married her, she must have had a dispensation to marry a non-Catholic, and another one to be married any place other than a Catholic church. If she didn’t have either or both, your marriage will need convalidating. Without them, the marriage is invalid, and therefore you are living in sin.

If either one of you was married before, you must obtain a decree of nullity. Until then, the divorced one is still married to the former spouse; thus living as man and wife is committing adultery.

I’m speaking from experience - my DH and I are living “like brother and sister” until my annulment is decreed. 😦

Actually, it seems to be bringing us closer, in spite of the frustration.

Before I came to the Church, I thought her teachings on marraige and birth control were legalistic, to put it politely. Since then, I have researched both what is really taught, and why - and I have a whole new perspective. A marriage in accordance with Catholic teachings is the best a marriage can be. Search the CA library & find out yourself!
 
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SavedByFaith:
Sorry for all the questions but I had never heard this and it kinda concerns me somewhat. I have only been married once (as described above). My wife was married once before, divorced and then married me 18 years ago. Our marriage is valid in the eyes of both the Methodist and Baptist churches. If I (and only I) want to join the RCC would I be affected in this pursuit? I gather from your answer that if we both wanted to join then we would have an issue resulting from her prior marriage BUT if it was only myself that wanted to convert (as I suspect will be the case) - would this cause an issue for me? Thanks for the help.
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Yes it would because it is not the only marriage for her, your marriage is valid in the eyes of both the Methodist and Baptist churches, but not the Catholic Church. She would need to have her original first marriage investigated for validity and it would need to be ruled invalid before you could enter the Catholic Church. You can however begin the RCIA process while she begins the Annulment process, keep in mind that the annulment process will take some time.
 
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