Dear Jennifer,

I had a hard time understanding your situation, so I sent your question to a priest-helper who is knowledgeable about marriage tribunal issues. He replied:

This e-mail question could fit two scenarios.

First, what seems to me to be certain is the following:

The woman was never married and the man was. They decided to not wait for a Declaration of Nullity but got married outside of the Church. Meanwhile — he filed for a Declaration of Nullity and it has now come through.

1. They now want to be married in the Church — in that case go to any priest and get the Marriage validated. This can be a big or small event. (small would mean the couple, the priest and two witnesses).

2. She now is divorced from that man and perhaps wants to marry someone else. Because she is a Catholic and did not follow Catholic Form for Marriage, she could go to any priest and he could apply for a “Lack of Form” case. (In some dioceses, the priest themselves do this — in most dioceses you have to go through the Tribunal).

Let me know if the situation is different then the two that I have described.

Fr. Jonathan

Hope this helps,

Mike