The Marriage Service

[adamlsp]

I am engaged to marry. Both my fiance and myself are converts from Protestantism. No one in our families is Catholic. I would like the marriage service from the 1962 missal. She thinks that would be too alienating for our low-church Protestant families and that she would in turn feel alienated from her family; they would get upset and so she would get upset. She asked if we could somehow have the marriage service from the 1962 missal but with greater use of English. Is this possible? I know the 1967 relaxations on use of Latin and other elements of the Mass allowed English and the like but I didn’t know if English was allowed freer use now. I would appreciate your thoughts and comments on our situation and whether or not English is allowed to be used more freely in the marriage rite and whether we should use it.

Thanks,

Adam

 

[Aramis]

Current options, as I understand them:

EF: 1962 missal AS IS, except lection, gospel, and homily may be in the approved engish.

Current OF Missal in Latin
Current OF Missal in English
Current OF Missal in English with Latin swapouts

 

[PhilotheaZ]

Ask the priest who will marry you to advise you.

As I understand it, in the Extraordinary Form of the Mass, the Epistle and Gospel can be read in English (some priests repeat them in English after reading them in Latin), and obviously the homily is in English. Processional and recessional hymns, if any are used, can be in English because they technically occur outside Mass (before it begins and after it ends). Offertory and Communion hymns, if any are used, must be in Latin.

However, this sounds like a situation where it might be charitable of you to defer to your fiancee’s wishes. The two of you will have plenty of opportunities to attend the Extraordinary Form of the Mass after the wedding.