Is it allowed to have a Protestant wedding and then a Catholic ceremony immediately following?

[EnglishTeacher]

An engaged couple – one is Catholic and the other is Protestant – are planning on having their wedding in a Protestant church and then immediately going to a Catholic church for a ceremony with the priest. Is this allowed? I know that a mixed marriage couples can apply for a dispensation to get married in a Protestant church and have a priest or deacon there to witness the ceremony, but I had not heard of it being done with two back-to-back ceremonies.

I looked it up in canon law, but the answer wasn’t immediately clear to me.

 

[1ke]

An engaged couple – one is Catholic and the other is Protestant – are planning on having their wedding in a Protestant church and then immediately going to a Catholic church for a ceremony with the priest. Is this allowed?

No. They may not do this. From canon law:

Can. 1127 §3. It is forbidden to have another religious celebration of the same marriage to give or renew matrimonial consent before or after the canonical celebration according to the norm of §1.

They may either have a Catholic marriage ceremony or if the Catholic receives a dispensation, then they have a non-Catholic marriage ceremony. One or the other.

I know that a mixed marriage couples can apply for a dispensation to get married in a Protestant church and have a priest or deacon there to witness the ceremony,

While perhaps by “witness the ceremony” you mean be there as a guest, it is important to make sure we are all on the same page. If a person receives a dispensation from form there is no priest or deacon witnessing anything. If they are in attendance, they are there as a guest like everyone else. They may not receive the vows or perform any part of the ceremony. They can certainly give a blessing to the couple, do a reading, say a prayer, etc, but not in the role of celebrant nor may he officiate. Same canon from canon law applies:

Can. 1127 §3. Likewise, there is not to be a religious celebration in which the Catholic who is assisting and a non-Catholic minister together, using their own rites, ask for the consent of the parties.

but I had not heard of it being done with two back-to-back ceremonies.

That’s because it cannot be done.

 

[EnglishTeacher]

No. They may not do this. From canon law:

Can. 1127 §3. It is forbidden to have another religious celebration of the same marriage to give or renew matrimonial consent before or after the canonical celebration according to the norm of §1.

They may either have a Catholic marriage ceremony or if the Catholic receives a dispensation, then they have a non-Catholic marriage ceremony. One or the other.

That is what I thought. Thanks for your answer; I was hoping you would weigh in.

While perhaps by “witness the ceremony” you mean be there as a guest, it is important to make sure we are all on the same page. ** If a person receives a dispensation from form there is no priest or deacon witnessing anything**. If they are in attendance, they are there as a guest like everyone else. They may not receive the vows or perform any part of the ceremony. They can certainly give a blessing to the couple, do a reading, say a prayer, etc, but not in the role of celebrant nor may he officiate. Same canon from canon law applies: Can. 1127 §3. Likewise, there is not to be a religious celebration in which the Catholic who is assisting and a non-Catholic minister together, using their own rites, ask for the consent of the parties.

This is the part that I was unsure about. I knew that a priest or deacon was not allowed to perform any part of the ceremony in these cases, but I thought it was required that a priest or deacon attend (as a guest) to witness the ceremony. So it sounds as though I wrong about a priest/deacon’s attendance being required?

 

[Tomdstone]

I heard that a Roman Catholic who is marrying an Eastern Orthodox may have the wedding performed in the Eastern Orthodox Church by the EO priest there.

 

[twf]

I heard that a Roman Catholic who is marrying an Eastern Orthodox may have the wedding performed in the Eastern Orthodox Church by the EO priest there.

Yes I believe this is in fact the norm in such cases. I believe, at least for the US (and I assume the same is true here in Canada as well), the Bishops’ Conference actually has guidelines encouraging this arrangement as I don’t believe it is possible for the Orthodox party to marry outside of an Orthodox ceremony.

 

[G_S]

Actually, the bishop may give permission for a Catholic wedding to take place in a Protestant church and with a priest or deacon officiating. He doesn’t have to sit in the pew. As one poster stated, a Protestant minister might officiate while a priest or deacon reads a scripture. The important caveat here is that, if a dispensation from form is not granted, a priest or deacon could not in good conscience take any part whatsoever in the wedding and should not even attend as a guest since it would imply his approval of an invalid marriage. What is not allowed is a “tag team” approach to a wedding ceremony with the vows being said twice or made in question form with each spouse responding to the minister of his or her own faith. A couple might, with the bishop’s permission, have a wedding in a Protestant church with a minister officiating and then go to the Catholic priest or deacon for a blessing but NOT for a second wedding ceremony. A priest or deacon could not bless an invalid marriage; e.g. one with a defect of form.

 

[QuasiCatholic]

Couldn’t they have a Protestant wedding and then immediately go have the wedding convalidated by a priest? Or is there some sort of minimum waiting time in between?

 

[G_S]

Couldn’t they have a Protestant wedding and then immediately go have the wedding convalidated by a priest? Or is there some sort of minimum waiting time in between?

Not really. If the bishop gave permission for a non-Catholic minister to officiate at a wedding, the marriage would already be valid and could not be convalidated, which is a term used when there is an invalid marriage in need of validation. There is no need to do such a thing. Since ministers of both faiths could participate in some way, what would be the reason other than the spouses being too lazy to go through the process of getting a dispensation of form?

 

[Joe_Kelley]

Couldn’t they have a Protestant wedding and then immediately go have the wedding convalidated by a priest? Or is there some sort of minimum waiting time in between?

That may depend on the diocese. In my diocese at least there is a waiting time; one year I think.

There was a case a few years ago when a couple were married civilly. They didn’t want to wait through the marriage preparation process. Then they didn’t want to wait a year for convalidation. A “friend” on the diocesan staff did them a favor and convalidated the marriage after a few months. They were divorced a few months after that. Sometimes there is a reason to follow the rules.

 

[1ke]

I knew that a priest or deacon was not allowed to perform any part of the ceremony in these cases, but I thought it was required that a priest or deacon attend (as a guest) to witness the ceremony.

While they often do attend, there is no requirement to do so.

So it sounds as though I wrong about a priest/deacon’s attendance being required?

Right.

It’s the Catholic spouse’s responsibility to ensure the records are sent to their parish so that the marriage can be recorded in the sacramental records.

Can. 1121 §1. After a marriage has been celebrated, the pastor of the place of the celebration or the person who takes his place, even if neither assisted at the marriage, is to note as soon as possible in the marriage register the names of the spouses, the person who assisted, and the witnesses, and the place and date of the celebration of the marriage according to the method prescribed by the conference of bishops or the diocesan bishop.

§2. Whenever a marriage is contracted according to the norm of ⇒ can. 1116, a priest or deacon, if he was present at the celebration, or otherwise the witnesses in solidum with the contracting parties are bound to inform as soon as possible the pastor or local ordinary about the marriage entered into.

§3. For a marriage contracted with a dispensation from canonical form, the local ordinary who granted the dispensation is to take care that the dispensation and celebration are inscribed in the marriage registers of both the curia and the proper parish of the Catholic party whose pastor conducted the investigation about the free status. The Catholic spouse is bound to notify as soon as possible the same ordinary and pastor about the marriage celebrated and also to indicate the place of the celebration and the public form observed.

Can. 1122 §1. The contracted marriage is to be noted also in the baptismal registers in which the baptism of the spouses has been recorded.

 

[1ke]

I heard that a Roman Catholic who is marrying an Eastern Orthodox may have the wedding performed in the Eastern Orthodox Church by the EO priest there.

The Orthodox do not allow their members to be married outside their Church. Orthodox priests have valid holy orders, therefore they are sacred ministers as noted below. To marry validly, the Catholic would marry in the Orthodox Church.

Can. 1127 §1. The prescripts of ⇒ can. 1108 are to be observed for the form to be used in a mixed marriage.

Nevertheless, if a Catholic party contracts marriage with a non-Catholic party of an Eastern rite, the canonical form of the celebration must be observed for liceity only; for validity, however, the presence of a sacred minister is required and the other requirements of law are to be observed.

 

[1ke]

Actually, the bishop may give permission for a Catholic wedding to take place in a Protestant church and with a priest or deacon officiating.

Form and location are two different things.

This would be a wedding in the Catholic form with permission for a location other than the parish church. This is exceedingly rare to the point of non-existent.

 

[1ke]

Couldn’t they have a Protestant wedding and then immediately go have the wedding convalidated by a priest? Or is there some sort of minimum waiting time in between?

No.

If a couple purposely flouted the Church requirements for marriage, they would indeed need convalidation. But they would have to go through the regular channels for convalidation, not simply bob on over to the Catholic Church the next day.

 

[G_S]

Form and location are two different things.

This would be a wedding in the Catholic form with permission for a location other than the parish church. This is exceedingly rare to the point of non-existent.

My wife and I were married in a Protestant church by a Catholic priest with the bishop’s permission – over forty years ago. Permission was given for the sake of family harmony. Her family had threatened to boycott the wedding if it were held in a Catholic church. My wife has since converted and is a devout, enthusiastic Catholic of thirty-five years. I know of several more recent examples as well.

 

[EnglishTeacher]

**Originally Posted by 1ke **
Form and location are two different things.

This would be a wedding in the Catholic form with permission for a location other than the parish church. This is exceedingly rare to the point of non-existent.

My wife and I were married in a Protestant church by a Catholic priest with the bishop’s permission – over forty years ago. Permission was given for the sake of family harmony. Her family had threatened to boycott the wedding if it were held in a Catholic church. My wife has since converted and is a devout, enthusiastic Catholic of thirty-five years. I know of several more recent examples as well.

Was the wedding in in the Catholic form, though? That is the part that she was saying rare/ almost non-existant–to have a Catholic wedding liturgy in a place other than a Catholic Church.