Need Roman Catholic Priest To Marry Us

RC priests are not allowed to perform a wedding outside a church.

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Posted by Meaghan729

RC priests are not allowed to perform a wedding outside a church.

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That's correct. But, you can have a RC priest who is no longer practicing (for whatever reason - ie got married, gay, etc) perform a ceremony for you, but it will not be recognized by the Catholic church as being a Catholic marriage. You can have the marriage convalidated afterwards though, but I heard that can be a pain in the butt.

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Posted by Audreygirl

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Posted by Meaghan729

RC priests are not allowed to perform a wedding outside a church.

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That's correct. But, you can have a RC priest who is no longer practicing (for whatever reason - ie got married, gay, etc) perform a ceremony for you, but it will not be recognized by the Catholic church as being a Catholic marriage. You can have the marriage convalidated afterwards though, but I heard that can be a pain in the butt.

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true - but if the priest is no longer practicing, then they arent really a priest!

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Posted by Meaghan729

RC priests are not allowed to perform a wedding outside a church.

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that is correct!

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Posted by Meaghan729

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Posted by Audreygirl

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Posted by Meaghan729

RC priests are not allowed to perform a wedding outside a church.

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That's correct. But, you can have a RC priest who is no longer practicing (for whatever reason - ie got married, gay, etc) perform a ceremony for you, but it will not be recognized by the Catholic church as being a Catholic marriage. You can have the marriage convalidated afterwards though, but I heard that can be a pain in the butt.

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true - but if the priest is no longer practicing, then they arent really a priest!

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yeah. but i guess that having a former priest is closer to having a catholic-feel than having an officiant who wasn't a former priest. -shrug-

Check out the related threads at the bottom of this thread...There are several with recommendations!

I don't believe catholic priests will perform the ceremony outside of the church unless it is an interfaith marriage where one of the parties is not baptized -- and even then many will be reluctant.

We are having the ceremony at the church, but we are not having a mass. (FH is not Catholic...)

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Posted by Meaghan729

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Posted by Audreygirl

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Posted by Meaghan729

RC priests are not allowed to perform a wedding outside a church.

---

That's correct. But, you can have a RC priest who is no longer practicing (for whatever reason - ie got married, gay, etc) perform a ceremony for you, but it will not be recognized by the Catholic church as being a Catholic marriage. You can have the marriage convalidated afterwards though, but I heard that can be a pain in the butt.

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true - but if the priest is no longer practicing, then they arent really a priest!

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this is not true that they are no longer a priest. once a priest always a priest. god doesnt turn people away..

we got married by a priest outside the catholic church and had it validated..

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Posted by angnick

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Posted by Meaghan729

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Posted by Audreygirl

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Posted by Meaghan729

RC priests are not allowed to perform a wedding outside a church.

---

That's correct. But, you can have a RC priest who is no longer practicing (for whatever reason - ie got married, gay, etc) perform a ceremony for you, but it will not be recognized by the Catholic church as being a Catholic marriage. You can have the marriage convalidated afterwards though, but I heard that can be a pain in the butt.

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true - but if the priest is no longer practicing, then they arent really a priest!

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this is not true that they are no longer a priest. once a priest always a priest. god doesnt turn people away..

we got married by a priest outside the catholic church and had it validated..

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'once a priest, always a priest' is not accurate!

Priests can and DO leave the catholic church and they are NOT priests any longer. Prime example - the priest who married my parents left the priesthood and got married. He's still catholic, but he's not a priest anymore. If a priest leaves the priesthood and marries you (if he legally can), then the marriage will not be recognized by the catholic church.

If it's a retired priest, that's a different story. He's still a priest, but not actively working. In this case, they are usually still living in parishes or possibly in a church-run retirement home.

But priests can certainly leave the priesthood.

There is incorrect information being given out in this thread.

I am getting married by a Roman Catholic Monsignor at the Royalton and it will be recognized by the Roman Catholic Church.

Please FM me if you want more info.

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Posted by felicita

There is incorrect information being given out in this thread.

I am getting married by a Roman Catholic Monsignor at the Royalton and it will be recognized by the Roman Catholic Church.

Please FM me if you want more info.

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well, my uncle is a priest in the Diocese of Rockvlle center, and he told me that no priest is allowed to preside over a wedding outside the church.

if other priests are doing it, then its their decision.

or maybe it depends on the church. but I got this information from a current priest.

He is able to marry us outside the church because it is considered an interfaith wedding (my FH's mother is Jewish and he was never christened).

Monsignor Lisante, the priest who is marrying us, is a priest at St. Thomas in West Hempstead which is also the Diocese of Rockville Center.

The general rule is that ceremonies cannot take place outside of a church. There are some exceptions to the rule (usually that is when one of the parties is not baptized).

I'm sure there are priests who will break these rules and I'm sure there are plenty of exceptions to the rules. In general, though, the wedding is supposed to take place in the church. This is why most couples will have a difficult (though probably not impossible) time finding a catholic priest or deacon to marry them outdoors or at a RH.

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Posted by felicita

He is able to marry us outside the church because it is considered an interfaith wedding (my FH's mother is Jewish and he was never christened).

Monsignor Lisante, the priest who is marrying us, is a priest at St. Thomas in West Hempstead which is also the Diocese of Rockville Center.

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I'm pretty sure the exception isn't just for interfaith marriages, but for marriages where one of the parties isn't baptized (e.g. - Jewish and Catholic wedding like yours). If both parties are catholic or if one is catholic and the other has been baptized into another christian faith, then the wedding must take place in a church.

St. Thomas is the parish I grew up in and where I'm getting married. Msgr. Lisante is AMAZING - He married my brother and is supposed to marry me and FH as well. Your wedding will be beautiful.

Just one little warning -- If he asks you to write letters about why you want to marry your FH / why your FH wants to marry you, he WILL read them out loud at the ceremony... so don't put anything in there you don't want read out loud.

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I'm pretty sure the exception isn't just for interfaith marriages, but for marriages where one of the parties isn't baptized (e.g. - Jewish and Catholic wedding).

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Yes, that's right. If my FH had been baptized, we would have to get married in a church.

And yes, Monsignor Lisante did ask us to write up essays about why we want to marry each other. I knew he'd be using them for the ceremony, but I didn't know he would read them out loud word for word! Thanks for the heads up!

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Posted by felicita

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I'm pretty sure the exception isn't just for interfaith marriages, but for marriages where one of the parties isn't baptized (e.g. - Jewish and Catholic wedding).

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Yes, that's right. If my FH had been baptized, we would have to get married in a church.

And yes, Monsignor Lisante did ask us to write up essays about why we want to marry each other. I knew he'd be using them for the ceremony, but I didn't know he would read them out loud word for word! Thanks for the heads up!

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No problem -- At my brother's wedding, he read them ver batim. I'm not sure if he does that every time... His assistant warned my brother / sister-in-law that he reads them, though, so they wouldn't put anything in there they didn't want read aloud at the wedding. I thought you might like the heads up, too. That would NOT be a good surprise to have on my wedding day! (It was beautiful, but if it were a surprise, I'd be embarassed!)