Remarriage & Catholic burial?

  • Thread starter Thread starter harbour1982
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
H

harbour1982

Guest
I’ve been researching a relative who lived in the first half of the twentieth century, when things were done very much “by the book” in the Church. This relative was a very devout Catholic most of his life, then he did something very unexpected and unusual at the time-- namely divorcing his wife of 30+ years and remarrying. I have visited his grave in Austria many times and he is buried in a Catholic cemetery, alongside his second wife.

I can’t help but wonder how this was possible… namely that they both apparently died Catholics. It seems highly unlikely that his first marriage was annulled, as he and his wife had three children together. I am assuming his second marriage was not recognised by the Church as valid.

Any clarity you could offer would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks 😊
 
I’m unclear on one point – were he and his second wife living in the same town as where he’d been with his first wife?

If not, I guess it would be no different from today – they moved, they started going to Church and nobody asked if they were validly married.
 
No, they all lived in the same small town all their lives. His first wife is even buried in the same cemetery as him and his second wife. :confused:
 
harbour1982 said:
. I have visited his grave in Austria many times and he is buried in a Catholic cemetery, alongside his second wife.

I can’t help but wonder how this was possible… namely that they both apparently died Catholics. It seems highly unlikely that his first marriage was annulled, as he and his wife had three children together. I am assuming his second marriage was not recognised by the Church as valid.

Any clarity you could offer would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks 😊
Click to expand...
you are making several assumptions that are not backed up by your research. His having 3 children would not, then or now, be a barrier to receiving a decree of nullity for an invalid marriage, so that factor is irrelevant. It is true that annulments were much rarer then, but still not unheard of. they were much more private (as they should be now) . In your gen research you may be able to find out if the 1st and 2nd marriages were registered in the church of his baptism, which will tell you if they were valid (but don’t count on it, sacramental records are not routinely available to gen researchers).
 
It is also possible that his first wife died after the divorce, thus allowing him to remarry in the Church.
 
He died in 1956, his first wife in 1975 and his second wife in 2001.
I know I shouldn’t make assumptions, but I believe annullments were rarer back then and can’t imagine why the first marriage would be rendered invalid.
I could, of course, ask the Church but do not know if this would be too forward a question.
 
harbour1982 said:
He died in 1956, his first wife in 1975 and his second wife in 2001.
I know I shouldn’t make assumptions, but I believe annullments were rarer back then and can’t imagine why the first marriage would be rendered invalid.
I could, of course, ask the Church but do not know if this would be too forward a question.
Click to expand...
The grounds for an annulment would probably only be known to his former wife & himself. There are reasons why a marriage would be declared invalid that nobody but the couple would ever be privy to. But you might just approach the parish and ask if the second marriage is registered there. While they may not give you access to the registers (back in the late 80s, my home parish published the registers dating 1848 to 1921 but wouldn’t release anything more recent) they may simply confirm that a marriage did take place and the date. If it is, you can reasonably assume that one or the other, or perhaps both, had petitioned for and been granted a decree of nullity after their divorce.
 
The issue of his burial in a Catholic cemetary may or may not have to do with whether or not he made a full confession and was forgiven his sins at death.

At that point, he would no longer be able to do anything about his second relationship. All three could be buried in the same cemetary; the exact status of their marriage relationship being irrelevant once the husband died, whether or not there was a decree of nullity, as death brings an end to any marriage; the first; or the second presuming the first was decreed a nullity.
 
So is he reunited with his first wife in Heaven, or his second?
 
What if the man bought the Catholic semetary plots for himself and his first wife way in advance of his death?
I remember how cheap it used to be to buy semetary plots in the 1950’s in advance.
Look at it this way… he divorces his first wife and marries his second wife outside of the Catholic church. He confesses his sins and is forgiven and gets buried in his pre-paid Catholic plot.
Or… maybe he bought his plot at the last minute.
Remember… confession forgives our sins. It doesn’t matter how many years we have sinned.

His first wife was free from sin because she never re-married.
His second wife became free from sin after his death.
My conclusion is that they all were able to get buried in the Catholic plots.

I believe some priests are more easy going than others and don’t always follow the Catholic rules. I have seen that happen with my own eyes.

My advise to you is to just let it go and move on in your life. You don’t have enough evidence to prove anything.
 
As I recall suicides and unbaptized children were not buried in Catholic cemeteries, but I am not so sure about the divorced and remarried. Canon Law of 1917 should answer that question. My dad, a Lutheran, was buried in the Catholic cemetery alongside my mother, a Catholic. This was well before the new Canon Law was in place.
 
And now a *sincere *thanks to you both, rwoehmke & LaLucia. God bless! 🙂
 
rwoehmke said:
As I recall suicides and unbaptized children were not buried in Catholic cemeteries, but I am not so sure about the divorced and remarried. Canon Law of 1917 should answer that question. My dad, a Lutheran, was buried in the Catholic cemetery alongside my mother, a Catholic. This was well before the new Canon Law was in place.
Click to expand...
Under the 1917 code then . . . Canon 1240 and thereabouts.

The divorced and remarried, without decree of nullity and setting aside that issue, would have fallen into the category of public and notorious sinner and be deprived of both the rites and interment in a Catholic cemetery (a sacred place).

However, if he manifested a sign of repentance prior to death, he could be given Catholic funeral rites and receive burial in a Catholic cemetery. If there were a doubt about that, the ordinary could still permit those, but the funeral would be done rather privately to avoid scandal. If he died a sudden death and thus without the chance to manifest repentence, the practice was to lean toward leniency. What would have happened in any particular case, of course, might have been another matter.
 
Very informative, Cameron. Thank you.

I can tell you that his first wife kept his name, and I know I should not make assumptions but she almost certainly did not do so out of affection. Is this any sort of indicator that their union was not annulled?
Do you happen to know what the common practice was (pre-1983 reform) for marriages that were dissolved? Did the wives ever drop their ex-husbands’ surnames or did they retain the names regardless of whether an annullment was granted or not?

I am hoping to get some answers tomorrow when I visit the Diocese archives in his town, but will probably be left with even more questions the more I find out. 😊
 
harbour1982 said:
Very informative, Cameron. Thank you.

I can tell you that his first wife kept his name, and I know I should not make assumptions but she almost certainly did not do so out of affection. Is this any sort of indicator that their union was not annulled?
Do you happen to know what the common practice was (pre-1983 reform) for marriages that were dissolved? Did the wives ever drop their ex-husbands’ surnames or did they retain the names regardless of whether an annullment was granted or not?

I am hoping to get some answers tomorrow when I visit the Diocese archives in his town, but will probably be left with even more questions the more I find out. 😊
Click to expand...
I’m only a canonist. The use of surnames is a cultural and individual matter.
 
Harbour, please let us know what you found in your research of your relative. I find it very interesting.
They lived in a historical time of war and economic problems in the world. His financial situation may have made a difference in his life.

Most women prefer to keep their married names because it is a lot easier just to keep the name. The community knows them by that name.
Myself… personally… I decided to change my name when I got divorced because my ex-husband’s last name was hard to pronounce. So it was easier just to go back to my birth name.
I am glad I did because my birth certificate and passport have the same birth name. Presently when women travel to other countires they have to carry their divorce papers to prove who they really are. Lucy
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top