Do I need a marriage license to get married in the Church?

[Elizabeth833]

Hello!

I have some questions about marriage ceremonies and marriage licenses.

My boyfriend of 8 years and I recently got engaged, and we have decided to get married next May.

We are planning on getting married, four hours away from where we currently live, in Duluth MN. The only problem is that we both fell in love with a church in Wisconsin.

My question is, can we both still get married in the church without a WI marriage license or no license at all? And get the license afterwards or before?

I have emailed the county clerk and am waiting on a response from them for the state side of my question, but I cant seem to find an answer for the faith side of my question.

My fiancé is Lutheran, but is not practicing, and wants to get married in the Catholic Church because he knows its very important to me.

I thought the be supportive of him and looked at the Lutheran churches in Duluth (therefore removing the question entirely) but they just didn’t feel right, there was no connection there for me…and I suppose that makes sense, but I am beginning to get disheartened.

Thank you and God Bless!

 

[Fr.Charles_Grondin]

Code of Canon Law:

Can. 1071 §1. Except in a case of necessity, a person is not to assist without the permission of the local ordinary at:

2/ a marriage which cannot be recognized or celebrated according to the norm of civil law;

The Church requires that all marriages follow civil law unless the civil law is inherently unjust. While your situation might indeed be inconvenient it is not inherently unjust. You definitely need to get a marriage license in order to be married in any Catholic church in the USA. I don’t think you’ll have a problem getting a marriage license, its just probably going to require some time and paperwork.

Congratulations on your engagement!