Catholic Wedding Questions and Answers
If one of us is Catholic and one is not, what are our
options for a wedding ceremony that will be recognized as valid by the
Catholic Church?
You have a wide range of options for
celebrating your wedding. First, though, the Catholic person must
obtain permission from the bishop (to marry a baptized Christian of
another faith) or a dispensation from the bishop (to marry an
unbaptized person). Once this is done (usually not a problem), you can discuss the following
options with your Catholic priest:
-
You may celebrate the Catholic Rite of
Marriage with a Mass (although the person who is not Catholic will
not be able to receive communion).
-
You may celebrate the Catholic Rite of
Marriage outside of Mass.
-
You may have your marriage witnessed by a
Catholic minister, and invite another Christian minister to
participate in the wedding (for instance, by reading from the
Scriptures or offering prayers and blessings). Your Catholic
minister will need to obtain permission from his bishop to extend
such an invitation.
-
You may have your marriage witnessed by a
Christian minister, with a Catholic minister assisting (for
instance, by reading from the Scriptures or offering prayers and
blessings). Before doing so, your bishop must provide you with a
"dispensation from canonical form" (in other words, your bishop must
dispense with the requirement for Catholics to be married through a
celebration of the Rite of Marriage).
-
You may have your marriage witnessed by a
minister of the faith of the non-Catholic person, if the Catholic
person first obtains a dispensation from canonical form from his or
her bishop.
What are the rules and requirements for a valid Catholic wedding?
