Valid Sacramental Marriage

[Benjai1882]

Hi Guys,
I’m new here. A recent convert from baptisty/ general protestant churches. My wife and I were fairly commited believers prior to converting. We had both been baptized and were married according to the rites of the church we were in. When we were recieved into communion our priest informed us that our marriage had not been sacramental and that we needed to be married again in the Catholic Church. We followed along but now looking back on it it seems to me that as validly baptized Christians our first marriage may have been sacramental even though we didn’t know it was at the time… Thoughts anyone?

 

[Arkansan]

Either you are leaving out important details or the priest did not know what he was talking about. Any valid marriage among the baptized is by that very fact a sacrament.

 

[PaulfromIowa]

Did you ask the priest why? What did he say?

 

[vallancec]

You need to talk to him again. He may just want you to renew your vows in the catholic church which is common for people married outside the church.

 

[1ke]

Thoughts anyone?

If you and your wife were baptized Protestants with no impediment to marriage (such as a prior marriage for either of you), then yes your marriage was both valid and a sacrament. Your priest was simply incorrect.

If one or both of you had been unbaptized, your valid natural marriage would have become a sacrament upon your baptism. You still would not have needed to do any sort of marriage in the Catholic Church. A valid marriage can be contracted between non-Catholics.

 

[Matthew1618]

I agree, that doesn’t sound at all correct. I would ask another of your parish priests or maybe go to a neighboring parish for a second opinion, but that sounds incorrect by what I recall from RCIA.

 

[Benjai1882]

Thanks for the response mate

 

[TheLittleLady]

This.

Perhaps your priest is not a native English speaker? Sometimes there is a misunderstanding when everyone is not speaking their native language.

 

[phil19034]

Were either of you baptized as a baby in the Catholic Church?

 

[Pup7]

Hi Guys,
I’m new here. A recent convert from baptisty/ general protestant churches. My wife and I were fairly commited believers prior to converting. We had both been baptized and were married according to the rites of the church we were in. When we were recieved into communion our priest informed us that our marriage had not been sacramental and that we needed to be married again in the Catholic Church. We followed along but now looking back on it it seems to me that as validly baptized Christians our first marriage may have been sacramental even though we didn’t know it was at the time… Thoughts anyone?

I converted to Catholicism. My husband did not. We were married in the United Methodist Church by the rites of that church when we married 18 years ago. We are both baptized - he is Church of England and I was Methodist.

We did not need convalidation, and neither do you. The Catholic Church considers your marriage sacramental.

If you and your wife were baptized Protestants with no impediment to marriage (such as a prior marriage for either of you), then yes your marriage was both valid and a sacrament. Your priest was simply incorrect.

If one or both of you had been unbaptized, your valid natural marriage would have become a sacrament upon your baptism. You still would not have needed to do any sort of marriage in the Catholic Church. A valid marriage can be contracted between non-Catholics.

This.

Were either of you baptized as a baby in the Catholic Church?

Now if THIS is the case, yes - you need convalidation. If neither of you were baptized Catholic, then you don’t.

 

[Benjai1882]

Thanks everyone. We have since moved from that Parish due to work etc. The priest mentioned was a lovely, kind man but a little forgetful AND as suggested English was his second language. To clarify my wife and I were both baptized with “believers baptism”