Marriage

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thistle

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In cases where two Catholics get civilly married (no civil law requirement for this) I realise they are not validly married in the eyes of the Church. If they want to rectify this situation (of course assuming they are reconciled through Confession) and be in a valid marriage do they go through a normal marriage ceremony in Church (because the Church does not recognise the civil marriage) or is it a different ceremony (because they are civilly legally married)?
 
I think it’s always best for people in these situations to speak to a priest.
 
thistle said:
In cases where two Catholics get civilly married (no civil law requirement for this) I realise they are not validly married in the eyes of the Church. If they want to rectify this situation (of course assuming they are reconciled through Confession) and be in a valid marriage do they go through a normal marriage ceremony in Church (because the Church does not recognise the civil marriage) or is it a different ceremony (because they are civilly legally married)?
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To convalidate their marriage, the couple exchanges vows in the Catholic form. Yes, the Church uses the Marriage Rite and yes it is the same regardless of whether they are civilly married or not. Civil marriage is irrelevant as it pertains to Catholic form.

The couple can also convalidate the marriage through radical sanation in some situations. They do not exchange new consent if using sanation to convalidate. The original consent suffices.
 
thistle said:
In cases where two Catholics get civilly married (no civil law requirement for this) I realise they are not validly married in the eyes of the Church. If they want to rectify this situation (of course assuming they are reconciled through Confession) and be in a valid marriage do they go through a normal marriage ceremony in Church (because the Church does not recognise the civil marriage) or is it a different ceremony (because they are civilly legally married)?
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Assuming that this is the first marriage for both, they could either have a “normal marriage ceremony” or a con-validation.

NOTE: Technically (from a Catholic point of view), a “marriage ceremony” and a “con-validation” are the same thing. A Catholic marriage only has the following requirement:

– 2 witnesses
– the bride and groom
– a priest or deacon
– recite the vows

That’s it. Guests, music, bridal parties, wedding dresses, walking down the aisle, etc. are all options. We call it “con-validation” because the Church is validating the marriage.

Hope this helps.
 
Many people call it a “blessing”, but really, a convalidation is an actual marriage ceremony. A couple has to follow all the prescriptions of the Church (including pre-marital counseling!), and they exchange vows in the Church. There’s nothing different in the rite, although there’s usually a lot less pomp and circumstance.

(In the U.S., at least,) there’s no civil recognition of this ceremony – there’s no marriage license, etc, etc. In the eyes of the state, the couple was married on the date on their marriage license. What gets recorded in the Church’s registers, for the couple, though, is the date of the Church wedding (i.e., the convalidation).
 
The marriage ceremony doesn’t have to have all the extra bells and whistles, as was already said. However, the priest or deacon should be careful in officiating to not imply that the ceremony is just a blessing of a marriage. I, as a deacon, presided at a marriage of a couple in a civil marriage for about twenty-seven years. I treated them like newlyweds (which they were) and they loved it. Afterwards, they had a lovely reception and everyone was referring to them as the new couple or the bride and groom. A couple who sincerely want their irregular union solemnized should be allowed the joy of knowing it it a new, real, and valid wedding and not just a formality.
 
Thanks everyone. Its a niece of mine and her husband (at least civilly) who got married overseas. Yes. Pregnancy involved. They realise what they did was wrong and want to be reconciled to Christ and his Church. They are coming back here to have a Church wedding. It just struck me that they probably should get the permission of the priest of their local parish Church in the country where they currently reside to allow them to come back to this country for the wedding. What do you think?
 
thistle said:
Thanks everyone. Its a niece of mine and her husband (at least civilly) who got married overseas. Yes. Pregnancy involved. They realise what they did was wrong and want to be reconciled to Christ and his Church. They are coming back here to have a Church wedding. It just struck me that they probably should get the permission of the priest of their local parish Church in the country where they currently reside to allow them to come back to this country for the wedding. What do you think?
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They should go to their parish priest and do the paperwork involved with getting married in another diocese. It is, after all, his prerogative to be the witness to their marriage.
 
thistle said:
Thanks everyone. Its a niece of mine and her husband (at least civilly) who got married overseas. Yes. Pregnancy involved. They realise what they did was wrong and want to be reconciled to Christ and his Church. They are coming back here to have a Church wedding. It just struck me that they probably should get the permission of the priest of their local parish Church in the country where they currently reside to allow them to come back to this country for the wedding. What do you think?
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Correct. They must start with their own parish pastor and do the premarital preparation. If they want to convalidate their marriage in a parish other than their own, they need permission. There will be paperwork involved as these are two different dioceses.
 
That’s what I thought.
They have not yet approached their parish priest in the country they live in nor the priest in this country but what is the situation if their parish priest says no but the priest back in this country nevertheless agrees to the convalidation being done here.
 
thistle said:
That’s what I thought.
They have not yet approached their parish priest in the country they live in nor the priest in this country but what is the situation if their parish priest says no
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Unlikely, but if so the that’s that. They will have the convalidation in their home parish.
thistle said:
but the priest back in this country nevertheless agrees to the convalidation being done here.
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He has no authority to do so:

Can. 1108 §1. Only those marriages are valid which are contracted before the local ordinary, pastor, or a priest or deacon delegated by either of them
 
1ke said:
Unlikely, but if so the that’s that. They will have the convalidation in their home parish.

He has no authority to do so:

Can. 1108 §1. Only those marriages are valid which are contracted before the local ordinary, pastor, or a priest or deacon delegated by either of them
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Thanks. I’ll let them know.
 
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