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Hi, guys —
I am not a Catholic, though I married a Catholic woman almost 20 years ago in the Church.
We went through the engaged encounter training classes, but we still had to divorce 15 years ago.
I have since met a wonderful woman who is a devout Catholic, and we would like to get married in October of this year. She was previously married as well, but never in the Church.
My question is:
- What do I have to do so we can get married in the Church?
- From everything I have been reading, I will still need to get an annulment because I was previously married in the Church. Is this not the case?
We do not live together, and have committed to not having sexual relations until we are married. I just want to make sure that we respect the Church, and do this the right way. It would break her heart if we could not get married in the Church.
Just looking for some advice, on what to expect when we meet with the priest.
Thank you,
Chris
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Mary Ann replied:
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Chris,
You will need to have your previous marriage examined to see if it was valid.
That could depend upon many factors, including what the two of you, at the time, thought the purposes and ends of marriage were:
- being faithful until death
- being open to children, and
- whether or not, at the time, you were both capable of marriage in your mind and will.
The first thing to do is pray, and the second thing to do is talk to her parish priest to see what needs to be done next. It may be simple and short, or it may be more complex and take up to a year.
God bless.
Mary Ann
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