Convalidation process

[AlieMarie728]

What would it take to bring my marriage in line with Church teaching?

I was married 2.5 years ago in an EFCA church, at the time I didn’t think I would consider returning to the Church. Life has since changed for me, and now that we are expecting our first child, I’d like to raise him in the Catholic Church.

My husband is Christian, but not necessarily religious; I pray every day that he will start coming to church with me and, maybe one day, consider converting.

In any case, can someone explain the convalidation process to me?

 

[1ke]

Go talk to your pastor. He will be the best guide as the details of the requirements vary from diocese to diocese. In some diocese there are classes involved, regarding the nature of the sacrament of marriage. In others, a few meeting with the priest may suffice.

The pastor will establish freedom to marry in the Church (i.e. no prior marriages for either of you), gather paperwork such as your civil marriage documents, baptismal records, etc, and obtain the necessary permission from the bishop regarding mixed marriage. Convalidation can then proceed, either by giving new consent in the Catholic form (i.e. repeating your vows before a priest and two witnesses) OR via a process called radical sanation if for some reason your husband will not repeat the vows in Catholic form.