I was baptisted Catholic, but never did any classes, can I get married in a Catholic Church?

Question

My sister did her first communion and Catechism, but I never did. I attended Church through out High School w/a friend of mine and a close family member. I would like to get married in that church, it's a Catholic Church and I would like to get married as a Catholic. Neither my fiance or I did first communion or anything else for that matter, can we still get married in the Catholic Church?

Answer 1

Yes, but you have a little preparation to do first.

The Code of Canon Law states:

Canon 1065 §1. Catholics who have not yet received the sacrament of confirmation are to receive it before they are admitted to marriage if it can be done without grave inconvenience.

§2. To receive the sacrament of marriage fruitfully, spouses are urged especially to approach the sacraments of penance and of the Most Holy Eucharist.

Exceptions are made when there is a danger of death.

With love in Christ.

Answer 2

The Catholic Church will marry you since you were baptized Catholic (that's your ticket to heaven too, by the way!). :)

Basically, you will sit down with the priest who will be marrying you and with your fiance, you will have to explain why you want to be married in the Catholic church. You DO NOT have to have your first communion or be confirmed. They probably will push you to do so however since you want to embrace your faith and be a "good Catholic" by getting married in the church. But you are in no way forced to do this. And your fiance cannot be forced to do anything at all. It's perfectly acceptable for only one person to be Catholic in the marriage. But, you must be able to tell the priest that you and your fiance agree to raise the children in the Catholic faith (and you will have to say that you are open to having children in the first place too).

That's it and that's all! You are Catholic by right of baptism and they will marry you and your fiance in the church because of that. The question of whether or not there will be a mass (communion) celebrated during the wedding ceremony is another thing altogether. It usually has to do with your desire to become a practicing Catholic if you aren't already. They don't perform communion without at least one of you being a practicing Catholic (someone who goes to church most Sundays).

Good luck!

Answer 3

Pretty much everyone who posted has the right idea.

I'd add that, typically, Catholic parishes require that you're a member of the parish (if it's a really popular parish and they want to limit who gets sacraments there), and that at least one person getting married is Catholic. I hate to say it, but some parishes are like, "Just give us money and you're in!" Mostly, though, parishes want you to go to an info night and/or attend a Pre-Cana class so you're prepared as to what the Catholic Church expects of you as married people and what your roles are in the Church as married people.

If you really want to get married at that Church, you should talk to a priest at the parish. Explain your situation. I had to do a similar thing, as I wanted to get married in the church of my youth, and I lived outside the parish boundaries (and I hadn't been confirmed). The priest remembered me, so I had an "in".

They'll pr'y ask that you do your First Communion, which, since you're an adult, will most likely be combined with Confirmation. (They'll like that you attended Mass there in your youth and that you want to be married there, but while you were practicing Catholicism, you weren't Catholic. There's a difference, because my dad is doing that (he's Presbyterian but has been practicing Catholicism for about 25 years) and that's how the priest described it to him... that he's not Catholic until he's blessed into the Catholic Church and does First Communion, etc.).

That process will take about one year, as you'll be attending weekly classes and meeting with your Confirmation sponsor, etc. If they won't let you book a wedding date until after you've completed those two sacraments (plus Baptism if you were never baptized in any religion), then it might be another year's wait on top of that due to the Church being booked up. If you want to get married sooner, consider a different type of ceremony.

Good luck! And congratulations on your engagement.

Answer 4

You and your fiance both need to have been baptized Catholic, made your first communion, and been confirmed. You also must attend either precana classes or go on a retreat to "learn" from other married people how to have a good Catholic marriage. You and your fiance also must not be living together before the wedding. Also, be prepared to spend $$$.

And now some advice - Unless you or your husband are staunchly Catholic, which by the fact that you have not gone beyond baptisim tells me you are not, so I hope you are not insulted by this - I'd recommend finding a congregational or non denominational church to get married in. Weddings are expensive enough without spending extra money for extra ceremonies and classes that you would have to front and attend to get married in the Catholic church.

Answer 5

Im getting married in the Catholic church in June. I wasnt Catholic but my fiance is. The priest was still going to marry us, we just wouldnt have had the mass. Thats the main thing, if both of you dont have all 3 sacraments (baptism, eucharist, and confirmation) you can still be married in the church, you just wont have the mass and you cant recieve communion. Im taking classes right now to recieve all 3 sacraments so that we can have the mass and traditional catholic ceremony.

Answer 6

Well, it's kind of strange that you would want to be married as a Catholic, since you haven't had the sacraments and probably then haven't been practicing the religion. If you are totally serious, you would have to take a lot of education classes, to get confirmed, then pre-marital classes. You have to commit to raising your children Catholic, and commit yourselves to be practicing Catholics. You really need to think out if you really want and are ready for this. You can't think of getting married in a church "just because". Talk to a local priest about all this, once you and your bf discuss everything seriously.

Answer 7

The Church would probably want you to have first communion and become confirmed Catholics before you were married in the church.

You can speak to your local priest about this.

If it's just because you like the building, find a different building....

Answer 8

You need to go to classes at the Church and they will inform you of all the requirements to continue with your Religion. Talk it over with the Priest and He will guide you as to what you need to do to catch you up to the present day. Hopefully you will both continue these teachings, don't do them because you think you can't get married anywhere else, or because the Church was the one you attended as a child and you feel some connection there, do it for yourselves.
Congratulations and Best Wishes to You and Your Fiance'.

Answer 9

that happend to my cousin and he never went to cathlolic church we went to a non denominatinal christian church and then he met his wife she wanted to get married in catholic church and he then had to take a course for that he had to go to some out of town classes and finish those then he got married. But sometimes i hear of some priest making you promise to raise your kids catholic. In all honesty I wouldn't promise anything. You don't know all the planes of the future.

Answer 10

my cousin wants to get married in a catholic church but she cant cuz she wasnt baptized or had her first communion so she has to do all that first