catholic wedding, can i?

Question

I'm getting married in May of next year..problem is my fiance was raised Catholic...he still needs one more thing before he can get married in the catholic church..I was wondering if even if he does that if we would be able to get married in the catholic church being that I was raised baptist..my mom told me I would have to switch over to catholic first, take classes, and all the things the catholics have to do before they can get married. Would we be able to get married in the Catholic church if I'm baptist?

Doug...for one..I totally I agree with you..i could care less what religion we get married under or what church as long as god is there to witness it.

the reason I was going to have the wedding in the catholic church is for his family..they are paying for everything..so I can atleast give this to them..and my pastor is getting old and rambles bless his heart and gets off subject..my cousins wedding was a disaster..right now though I'm leaning more for finding a nice pretty place and have a a non religious wedding since we come from two backgrounds.

little more background..we already have a 2 year old so she would have to be catholic.. when we were growing up we both were forced to go to church so we dont really go any more..we still have our faith, but dont believe forcing our our daughter to go to church is right..we;ll let her choose her own religion when she wants..thanks for all of your advice..it was so helpful, I'll talk to him about it but being our beliefs I dont think it would be right to get married in the catholic church to please his family I think it would be best to find a nice place and have a non religious marriage.

Answer 1

Oh lord.

Religion has nothing to do with getting married. Who cares where you get married! Ask God, not a priest. We are all one denomination, one church. Get married where you are both comfortable, and don't let guilt from man or from the devil affect you. God loves you and your fiance both.

Answer 2

It used to be that you both had to be Catholic to get married in the church. But now only one of you has to be a Confirmed Catholic. Confirmation is the sacrament that your fiance has to do before you two can get married in the church.

If you two want to get married in the Catholic church though he better hop to it! When you go through the classes as a teenager, which is when most people raised Catholic get Confirmed, it takes two years of study first. He should talk with his priest to see if he can get the studying done faster.

Since only one of you is Catholic, you two can opt for a church ceremony that doesn't include the full Mass and Communion. This way there's no awkwardness about the non-Catholics in attendance not being able to take Communion. You two can talk with the priest to tailor the ceremony to suit both of your beliefs.

Catholic priests can also come to any wedding held indoors and give a blessing. Not if it's outside though. And I believe that they can also officiate at ceremonies with clergy from other religions. You'd have to check on that part though.

Congratulations on your engagement!

(edit-okay now that you've added some more info lemme delete some of my old edit. lol)

I'm glad someone cleared up the raising children Catholic thing. Honestly, just remember that Catholicism is constantly changing, so the rules from a generation before are not the rules now. They don't care if you convert. They don't care if you're Catholic if you decide to give the kid a Catholic baptism (I wouldn't have been baptized if they did care!)

They do like you to take some classes and talk with the priest first, but that makes sense. So many people nowadays just randomly pick a church for looks and don't even know the priest. I would be worried if priests agreed to marry couples without meeting with them a few times first!

And I think it's so nice that you're taking his side of the family into consideration. Is the location of the ceremony important to them or to your fiance? Do they care if it's done by a Catholic priest? If it is remember the stuff above. If not then who cares? And if you still want to honor his side of the family as long as you have the wedding indoors a Catholic priest can come and bless the union. And a dual-religion ceremony is also always something to ask the priest about. Contrary to popular belief Catholics don't despise the other Christian religions.

I'm sure your wedding will be lovely! :)

Answer 3

Yes, you can get married in a Catholic Church if you are Baptist and your fiance is Catholic.

As a non-Catholic, the only thing that is requested of you is that you allow your fiance to continue to practice his Catholic faith and that any children be brought up in the Catholic faith. This does not even mean they have to be baptized Catholic. It means that they are taught about the Catholic faith and that at some time, they are gien the opportunity to be baptized.

You mentioned that you do not care where you get married as long as it is before God. To the Catholic, the Catholic Church is where he finds God among His people. If a Catholic does not get married by the Catholic Church, it is not considered a valid marriage.

Good luck on your marriage. I hope that you and your fiance are able to iron out any differences you have regarding religion.

Answer 4

Nothing will stop you from getting married in the Catholic Church. I don't know what the one thing your husband needs before he can be married there, unless he was never confirmed or something like that, but I'm pretty sure that if he's Catholic, he should have no problem marrying in a Catholic Church. As far as having to convert to Catholicism, take classes, etc. That's bunk. That's simple ignorance of the Catholic faith. The Church will not force you to convert to Catholicism in order to get married in the Church. Those classes your mother referred to are RCIA classes, and they are for individuals interested in learning more about the Catholic faith. You aren't forced to go to the classes OR even believe what is taught in them. I wasn't Catholic whenever I married my wife. I did go to RCIA classes, however, and eventually decided to join the Church.

I hope that answers your question. Perhaps you should read "Why Do Catholics Do That?" by Kevin Orlin Johnson before going on in your relationship. It explains in simple terms why Catholics believe what they believe. If simply getting married is going to be a big ordeal, maybe this guy isn't the right one for you.

Answer 5

Things have changed sinse our parent's time. If you and your fiance want to be married in the Catholic church, I always thought both had to be Catholic. If that was the case, you would have to take the classes. Usually on Easter you will be officially converted to Catholicism and you will take part in all the sacraments: baptism, reconciliation, Eucharist and finally confirmation. You will also need a sponsor (your husband).
However, you do not have to have a Catholic wedding and you do not have to convert.
Don't let anybody force you into changing your religion. This is odd because usually couples assume the woman's religion or at least have her religious ceremony. Why aren't you having a baptist wedding??????
I think the best thing would be to find a priest, minister, reverend or whoever and have a non-specific denominational wedding. Good luck!

Answer 6

Yes you can get married in the Catholic church if you are Baptist as long as your fiance is Catholic. I got married last April in the Catholic church. I am Catholic and my fiance was Lutheran and in order to get married in the Catholic church we had to go to 2 Saturday 8 hour workshops and they gave certificates that we turned into the priest. The first was a Pre Cana class and the second was a Sexuality class. It was never an issue that he was not Catholic.

Actually my parents and both my sisters all got married in the Catholic church and my mom isn't Catholic and neither are either of my brother-in-laws. So my whole family did it :)
Congratulations!
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Just wanted to add that I saw some are telling you that you will have to sign something promising to raise your children Catholic. Actually that is incorrect, your husband is who has to promise this. (because he is the Catholic) My priest made a point to tell my fiance that it wasn't him who was making the promise and that it was me because I am Catholic.

Answer 7

If you are a baptist you will not be able to get married in the church. Even if your fiance finishes confirmation or whatever you have to both be catholic to get married in the church. Unless you get permission from the Bishop. Which is possible, but not really fun, normally.

Answer 8

Yes you can get married in the Catholic church. No you will not have to convert. You will be required to talk to a priest (both of you), you may be asked to take a little instruction or at least do a little study about the faith, you will have to promise not to prevent your husband from the rites and practices of the Church, and you will have to promise to bring up any children in the Catholic faith.

My best advice, grab your hubby to be and go talk to a priest.

Answer 9

Congratulations!

If your fiance has been baptized in the Catholic Chruch (which I assume he has been) then you and him may be married in the Catholic Church.

The Catholic Church allows marriage between Catholics and non-Catholics.

Because the Church recognizes the tremendous challenge that the interfaith couple will face, they may have to get permission from the bishop.

With love in Christ.

Answer 10

I am a baptised Baptist (I bet all Baptists are) married to a Catholic. We celebrated Mass once we bought married 2 years in the past. Of direction, I did not partake of Communion, however a whole Mass used to be held. My spouse's parish priest needed to acquire permission from the archbishop to ensure that that to take situation. Because of that, I might bet that the reply for your query might differ via situation. Check together with your fiance's parish priest (or the priest overseeing your pre-Cana rigamarole) to get an reply.

Answer 11

You do not have to convert, but do you fully understand what you are getting into when you marry a Catholic? You do realize your fiance will have to promise to have the children baptized in the Catholic Church as infants and bring them up Catholic, right? And that your children will be obligated to go to Mass every Sunday and Holy Day of obligation? And that they will have to observe the rules of fasting and abstinence? Are you really able to do your part in bringing up your children in a religion in which you do not believe?