Marriage to a Non-Catholic in the Church

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I am getting engaged to a man who is not a Catholic, but I am and have always dreamed of having a wedding in a Catholic Church. My boyfriend is very supportive of my Catholic background but is worried that we will not be allowed to get married in the Catholic Church. Can we get married in the Catholic Church and what are the requirements that we as a couple must make to be able to do this?
 
Congratulations on your engagement.

To get the complete answer, you will need to meet with your priest. Essentially, the non-Catholic needs to affirm your right to freely practice your faith and to pass it along to your children (which is assumed to mean raising them Catholic but is not necessarily that). I think that he must also affirm that he accepts the Catholic understanding of the Sacrament of marriage (that it is permanent). You don’t mention if he is a Christian but whether or not he is baptized might also be a factor.

Meet with your and discuss this openly. If you want to do so on your own at first, that might be a bit more comfortable but he will need to do so as well at some point.

Whatever you do, don’t bypass the process and get married outside of the Church without getting the proper dispensation. I know this from experience! You will not be allowed to receive the Sacraments until you resolve the situation and get the marriage blessed by the Church if you do this.
 
It’s eminently do-able.

My wife and I were married in the Church in 1968. She was a baptized Christian (though not a Catholic until last year), and we even had a nuptual mass.

Your parish priest will have all the details on what’s to be done.

Blessings,

Gerry
 
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heatherfeather:
Can we get married in the Catholic Church and what are the requirements that we as a couple must make to be able to do this?
When we got married, I was not Catholic. We were married in the church. The only requirement was that I had to promise to let her practice her faith and raise the Children Catholic.

15 years and going

BTW: I converted 6 years ago.
 
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