What are the requirements for getting married in the Catholic Church?

Question

What are the requirements for getting married in the Catholic Church. If you can, please state your sources.

Also, is this statement true: marriage is a sacrament, and, for the sacrament to be properly received, the Catholic partner(s) in a marriage must be in good standing with the Church. This not only means normal Church attendance but also avoidance of scandal. So, for instance, a couple who are living together may not be allowed to get married in the Church until they have spent sufficient time living apart. (There are exceptions—for instance, if the priest is convinced that the couple is not engaged in immoral behavior but is living together out of economic necessity.) Likewise, a Catholic politician who supports policies condemned by the Church (such as the legalization of abortion) may be denied a sacramental marriage.

I saw that on a webpage and wanted to check its validity

Answer 1

At least one of the spouses must be a baptized catholic in good standing with the Church, meaning regular attendance of mass on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation, and saying a Sacramental Confession at least once a year.

The couple must attend Marriage Preparation courses, and must promise to raise any children in the Catholic Faith.

The couple should not be living together, but if they are, they must make a promise to be celibate until they are officially married.

The catholic spouse must make a confession before receiving the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony.

Answer 2

In order to get married in the Catholic church, both must be free to marry, one must be Catholic, and the couple must go through a period of preparation (6 months-1 year). The US catholic bishops conference site links to this site www.foryourmarriage.org for questions about marriage in the church. Specific diocesan requirements (such as the dates for marriage prep and what is expected) are often listed on the parish website, so you can check for the parish you are considering.

A Catholic marriage between 2 baptized people is sacramental. If one is not baptized, it is still possible to have a Catholic marriage in the church. It is a valid marriage and recorded in the church records, but not a sacramental marriage. The sacrament is conferred not by the priest--it is witnessed by the priest, the marriage is performed by the priest, but the sacrament is conferred by the husband to the wife and vice versa. There is no difference in form between a valid, non-sacramental marriage and a sacramental marriage (although some couples in a mixed marriage prefer to have a wedding without the mass) More details can be found in the Catechism.

With regard to scandal, the initial paperwork for getting married in the church asks for his and her addresses, so it's clear if the couple is living together or not. Whether or not the priest or marriage preparation team asks specifically about premarital sex varies. Some priests ask, and won't marry a couple who won't abstain. Others don't ask.

Many people who have been raised Catholic but have not practiced for a while decide that they want a Catholic wedding when they become engaged. The process is not difficult, and your local parish office would be glad to give you their specific packet of information. Even for couples who really feel they know each other, the pre-cana or marriage prep program can bring up issues that are fun to talk about.

Good luck!

Answer 3

At least one of you needs to be Catholic and have made the other sacraments. You may be required to provide proof of baptism and confirmation.
Prior to getting married you will need to take pre marital classes called precana. They are usually group clases over 1 or 2 Saturdays or 1 weekend.
Some churches may only marry you if you are a member of that parish.
A lot of the other information in the statement you read depends on the church and is at the discretion of the pastor. Your family would need to be in good standing with the church, but most priests will marry you even if you do not attend regularly. For the living together part I would suggest to only offer that information if asked. That isn't something they necessarily approve but I have not heard of anyone having a hard time with that.
I have heard of churches refusing to give communion to people who support pro choice, but this is not the norm.

People who have been married in the Catholic church and then divorced may only remarry in the church if they have had an anullment.
If you were not married in the church and were divorced, you may marry in the church. The Catholic church only recognizes marriage that took place in the Catholic church.

The bottom line is you need to contact you local parish and find out what the requirements are for that specific parish.

Good luck!

Answer 4

well there are a few things in that statement that are not true like attending church regularly although they like u to attend church regularly its not a requirement to get married, and u definitely don't have to live apart when my aunt and uncle got married they had been living together and already had a kid so that's not true either as for the politics stuff i don't know much about that part so i don't know if that's true but i don't think it is ......

now here is what u really need to do to get married in a catholic church, well first off u have to be catholic and since marriage is a sacrament u have to of made your other sacraments as well like baptism, penance, communion and confirmation, if u didn't make all the sacraments the church has classes u can go to so u can make them they don't take long maybe a month or two
and i know that to married in a catholic church u can't be divorced if u have been divorced be for u can't be married in a catholic church, and u have to belong to a church parish, if wanna switch to a different church u can always get a referral from your priest, but that's basically all u need to get married in a catholic church

Answer 5

i am a catholic my husband to be isn't- it was important to me and my family that we were married by a catholic priest- all we did was go and see the local priest where we want to get married- he told us that it is basically up to the priests discretion in each parish about how he goes about deciding if a couple can be married. We visited him a lot and had many discussions about our lives , our feeling for one and other, our future, our sex life, our plans for children, how we were going to manage finances, etc. You maybe required to under take couples counseling or attend a retreat together or something like that. We haven't been as we are from a very small parish (there is lucky to be one wedding a year there) we've just been having visits from the priest and gong to church, etc. Goodluck with your wedding planning

Answer 6

I believe what you saw is correct but, I even wonder about the "living together" for monetary reasons. I do not think that flies either. You cannot be responsible for any kind of scandal.
Yes, marriage is a Sacrament. It indeed makes the two one flesh. This is the Prime reason the sacrifice of Jesus works is because he marries us ---his Church and then the two become one flesh---he dies because of our iniquities and we live because of his goodness.

Answer 7

I'm not Catholic, I'm not even Christian. When I married my wife 15 years ago it was important to her family that we got married in the Catholic Church. They finally found a priest to do it for enough money. So really, even being Catholic is not a strict requirement, just have enough money.

Answer 8

Aside from being catholic you have to have received three sacraments, baptism, communion and confirmation.
Also you have to attend something called prenup

Answer 9

I'm pretty sure you have to be a Catholic.