How do I marry in a Catholic Church if I or my fiancé(e) has been married before?

This depends very much on the circumstances. A Catholic who has been married and divorced can normally only marry again in Church if they first obtain a marriage annulment (see below). The exception is when their first marriage took place outside a Catholic Church, such as in a Register Office or in a civil setting either here in the UK or abroad, or in a non-Catholic Church without permission being obtained for that, and where that marriage has not been subsequently celebrated in a Catholic Church. In these cases the Church does not recognise the first marriage as valid, and it is a relatively simple process to demonstrate that you are free to marry. Your parish priest will tell you how this can be done.

The Catholic Church recognises the marriages of non-Catholics as valid, since they obviously cannot be bound by Catholic law. They would therefore normally be required to obtain a marriage annulment from the Catholic Church before being able to marry in Church. The exception would be if their first marriage was to a Catholic in the circumstances mentioned above or if their previous partner had been married before.

A marriage annulment can be a very healing process whereby the Church formally recognises that the conditions required for entering into a valid marriage did not exist. It does not affect the legal status of your first marriage, though you will need to have obtained a civil divorce before your application can be considered. Neither does it affect the legal status of children by that marriage. Specially trained people in each diocese, working in an office known as a marriage tribunal, investigate whether an annulment is possible, and even though there is no guarantee that you will be successful, it is always worth looking into, whether or not you may think you may qualify.

A marriage annulment can take some time to process, so it is worth enquiring early on. If you have already married a second time without an annulment, you can still apply, and your second marriage could always be celebrated subsequently with a convalidation in a Catholic church if you obtain an annulment of your first.

A convalidation is a full celebration of marriage in a Church, though not necessarily with all the ceremony normally associated with a wedding. It should not be confused with a blessing that is offered in some Christian churches to those who either cannot or choose not to marry in Church.

In order to look into the possibility of a marriage annulment, you can either contact your local tribunal through your parish priest, or directly by post, telephone or e-mail. For this you will need to know which diocese you live in, though you can also contact the tribunal of the diocese in which you were married. A list of contact details is available on: www.clsgbi.org/tribunals.htm

The National Board of Catholic Women have published a useful Guide to the Annulment Process which explains some of the terminology and the processes and procedures involved. You can contact the National Board directly or download a copy shortly from www.catholicannulment.info

To be put in contact with your nearest Catholic Church, the Catholic Enquiry Office of England and Wales is there to help (020 8458 3316; enquiries@life4seekers.co.uk).

For general information about a Catholic understanding of marriage please click here