Hi, guys —

My question is about the status of my marriage.

Twenty-two years ago, at age 31, I married an unbaptized woman (who, five years ago, converted to Catholicism) in a Protestant church, mainly because I did not consider myself Catholic at the time.

I was baptized in a Catholic Church as an infant, but I was not raised in the faith. In fact, I cannot remember ever having attended Mass except for weddings and funerals, not even at Christmas or Easter.

At around age ten or eleven, I began regularly attending Protestant services at the invitation of a neighbor. I even underwent a "believer's baptism", but then I lost my faith at around age 16 and became an avowed atheist and secular humanist. I persisted in this state until age 40 when I felt called back to God. I investigated other theistic religions as well, but when I decided that Christianity was the one true religion, my search for ultimate truth eventually led me back to Catholicism.

I now live in a mission country, so I sought out the guidance of an English-speaking priest in my local parish, and he taught me the Catechism over a period of around six months. I was confirmed by the local bishop thereafter.

In short, my wife and I are now both faithful, practicing Catholics, but I am concerned that our Marriage may not be valid (and that we may be unwittingly living in sin) because of my Catholic Baptism and my subsequent failure to receive a dispensation before entering into a mixed marriage.