What are some requirements to getting maried in a Roman Catholic Church?

Question

My B/F, was baptised Methodist, but had his Communion and Confirmation in a Catholic church, is it necessary for him to be baptised as a Catholic?. And in my case I have not been confirmed yet, is that something necessary as well?. If you would provide me with some link for me to show him, would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you so much in advance

Answer 1

Hi. It seems that you are getting a variety of answers.

Here is what I know from:
a. being Catholic all my life;
b. marrying a non-Catholic in the Catholic Church
c. having my son married in the Catholic Church and marrying a non-baptized, non-confirmed girl.

As long as your boyfriend has been baptized in any faith, that is recognized by the Catholic Church as a valid baptism. He has received the other sacraments - communion and confirmation, so that is good.

You DO NOT need to be either (a) baptized; or (b) confirmed as far as I know to be able to marry him.

Now....however, many churches only want to marry you if you "show an interest." Does your boyfriend attend Mass? Is he registered as a member of a parish? Those are things that the church will want.

You will also have to go to pre-marriage counseling. Mine was easy, and my son and daughter-in-law's was one whole day and they liked it.

The best thing to do would be to have your boyfriend call the priest and speak with him.

Again, you are getting a variety of answers, so it's best to go right to the source....the priest. Good luck!

Answer 2

My Fiance and I got engaged a few months ago and he is catholic, i am protestant. I was concerned too because he wants a catholic wedding in a cathedral, so i looked it up whether or not i had to be catholic too, and every church, father , minister, priest...or whatever they are called, said the same thing. I do not have to be baptized or catholic to be maried in a catholic church. The thing that matters is whether or not you have been married before. neither of us have and so there is no problem whatsoever. BUT, you have to ask the father at the church where you plan on getting married, because they all have their opinions and some just won't do it. Also, at my church we will only have to meet with the father for counseling, 2 weekends for one month, 1 hour visits. Also I am In Canada so the rules may be different where you are. ♥

Answer 3

Meredith is 100% correct.

The correct guidelines are....well, it depends. Each and every church has different rules on this. It's not something that has ever been handed down as a formal Papal doctrine. Each bishop handles things differently in each diocese.

Your best bet is to speak with the priest who will be marrying you. My husband was an unconfirmed Catholic, and was required to make his confirmation before we could marry in the church. Some churches don't require this. We didn't have to go through very many pre-Cana classes. Some couples have to go for months and attend weekend retreats. Some priests will perform a mass with one partner being non-catholic. Some priests will perform a ceremony without the full mass. It's different everywhere.

Answer 4

People will tell you a lot of different things about what is necessary but the fact is that every church is different and sometimes different priests will have different requirements. If you wish to be married in a Catholic church you need to speak with the priests there and see what they say.

They may or may not require confirmation, counseling, pre-cana classes, formal conversion to Catholicism, a promise to raise your children as Catholics, confession, baptism, standing membership in the church, donations, etc. You'll need to ask.

Answer 5

Your boyfriend is considered a member of the catholic Church and does not need to be baptized again. The catholic Church recognizes baptisms in the medodist church as valid.

If you are Catholic, you need to be confirmed in order to get married. If not Catholic, you do not need to be confirmed in your Church.

Answer 6

The Catholic Church recognizes one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. When I converted to Catholicism, my Pentecostal baptism was accepted and all I had to do was receive Holy Eucharist and Confirmation. For both of you to be married as Catholics in the Catholic church you probably need to go through with Confirmation and you both have to have at least 4 months of counseling from the pastor you want to marry you. Your best bet is to speak with him regarding the exact requirements. I will be in a similar predicament when my Greek Orthodox bf and I get married.

Answer 7

I am a non-Catholic that got married in a Catholic Church. One of the couple has to be a Catholic in good standing (my wife in this case) and the non-Catholic has to agree to raise any children as Catholic

Answer 8

I was Baptized Catholic but was never confirmed. My husband was baptized in another faith. We were told that we could be married in the church but could not have a mass, which was fine with is. The priest said as long as one of us was a baptized Catholic that we could get married in the church.

Answer 9

He doesn't need to be Catholic to marry you in the Church; he just needs to promise to raise your kids Catholic.

But a previous poster was correct--one baptism for the forgiveness of sins means he should be fine. Otherwise, they wouldn't have let him reach communion and confirmation!

Answer 10

you just both need to be baptized as catholic, confirmed,had communion andgo to confession if you had premarital sx and should attend marriage councelling from a priest.
and in america, you have to be a parishioner or member of the church where you want to get married. but in other countries, you can get married in any catholic church. best wishes.