Marriage-divorce-remarriage-RCIA

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quiescentgrace

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I apologize if this is posted to the wrong forum, but I’ve a question for the group:

I am interested in joining the Catholic Church, however my marital record is an issue.

I divorced my 1st spouse after 17 yrs (she is still living). I later married a woman who was also divorced. We remained together 25 years until her death a few years ago.

I am now single and will remain celibate during my remaining years.

Age and experience have lead me to a new spiritual path, full of hope for the future and regrets of my past. I cannot undo my actions, nor the consequences, but only ask forgiveness and God’s grace to see me forward.

Given my marital history, from what I’ve read, I may - or may not - be accepted into the Church. Before I embark in the RCIA journey, I’d like to know my chances and whether I’d always be a black sheep among the flock.

Peace for all. Thank you.
 
You do not have an impediment to entering the Church.

If you were currently in an irregular marriage, that would be an impediment to receiving the sacraments until it was resolved in some manner. But, you are not in such a marriage.

Your pastor may encourage you to have your first marriage examined for validity/nullity as part of the RCIA process, but you are not obligated to do so until/unless you change your mind about the possibility of a future marriage. In that case, you would need an investigation to determine your freedom to marry, or lack thereof.
 
As 1ke stated, I would not foresee any issues with your marriage history since you are no longer in an irregular marriage.

There might be questions about the status of your first marriage since it pertains to the canonical (i.e. legal) state within the Church. On the face of it the Church would assume that you have been married for 40+ years unless you sought and received a deceleration of nullity for the first marriage attempt. If you did not want to go that route your sacramental records would simply list you as being marraied from the date of your first marriage. It would simply mean that you would not be free to marry until your original spouse had died. It doesn’t sound like that is a concern for you though.

Long and short is if you feel called to the Church talk to a priest and they can help you get started. May you find peace where ever the Lord calls you.
 
As long as you are not in a second marriage and have no plans to remarry, your previous marriage isn’t a barrier to entering the Church.

However, you should be aware that the Church regards you as a married man, so that means that you couldn’t get married in the future.

I suggest to people in RCIA that if there’s any possibility you would want to date and consider marrying, that you have your prior marriage investigated before you come into the Church. That way you’ll know your status and can plan accordingly.
 
SuscipeMeDomine said:
As long as you are not in a second marriage and have no plans to remarry, your previous marriage isn’t a barrier to entering the Church.

However, you should be aware that the Church regards you as a married man, so that means that you couldn’t get married in the future.

I suggest to people in RCIA that if there’s any possibility you would want to date and consider marrying, that you have your prior marriage investigated before you come into the Church. That way you’ll know your status and can plan accordingly.
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The OP has stated that he is committed to life-long celibacy, so this is a non-issue. He has absolutely no barriers for the sacramental life :).
 
Thanks for your quick and honest replies. You’ve lightened my heart!

Blessings and peace.
 
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