Officiants for Dummies...

FH and I have begun the search for an officiant. I'm catholic, and he is just well...agnostic. He can handle a little Catholic infusion in way of a prayer and reading, but we also want the ceremony to be personal to us. I'm so confused with questions to ask, and if we should be interviewing in person before we book/hire. I'm also confused as to why Catholic priests and deacons who belong to Catholic churches cannot come out to our ceremony site, yet I see other priests 'advertising' and they can come out. What is the difference? I'm confused....

TIA.

We are using an interfaith minister who is non demoninational.
You probably don't see Catholic priests advertising, they are usually of some other sect, such as protestant, etc. The Roman Catholic church is very strict about everything. Some of them are former Roman Catholic priests.

And yes, I don think you should sit down and talk with your perspective officiants. We saw three and there were such differences. The one we chose was the one was felt most comfortable with and the one we thought would give us the most meaningful and wonderful ceremony.

...must call Rabbi
...must call Rabbi
...must call Rabbi

My friend had her brother ordained through a mail-away church thingy. Apparently it was legitimate and he performed the ceremony. It happened to be lovely. I am sure there is some sort of fee attached to it but it may be an avenue worth investigating. Unfortunately, it is not an option for us. My brother is too busy practicing to be the next American Idol (at 43 do you think he stands a chance? )

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Posted by lacey&mark

i can recommend rev joseph devincenzo. he is a former catholic priest and does interfaith weddings. he does 3 types of ceromonies: religious, spiritual (thats what we are doing), and contemporary. spiritual might work for you bc it only mentions god like twice and you could do an optional lords prayer. he and his wife personalize the whole thing, and they want to do it exactly how the costumer wants it. they are great. goodluck! ~lacey

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can you please email me his contact info and where he is located, i am on the same mission to find an officiant, thank so much

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Posted by lacey&mark

i can recommend rev joseph devincenzo. he is a former catholic priest and does interfaith weddings. he does 3 types of ceromonies: religious, spiritual (thats what we are doing), and contemporary. spiritual might work for you bc it only mentions god like twice and you could do an optional lords prayer. he and his wife personalize the whole thing, and they want to do it exactly how the costumer wants it. they are great. goodluck! ~lacey

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can you FM me too please? Thanks!

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Posted by Kris516
I'm also confused as to why Catholic priests and deacons who belong to Catholic churches cannot come out to our ceremony site, yet I see other priests 'advertising' and they can come out. What is the difference? I'm confused....

TIA.

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In the Roman Catholic faith - a wedding is viewed as a community event, that should occur within the church community, a church is much more than just 'a building.' This is one important reason why RC priests will not officiate at a wedding -in the sand-in a park, etc. Another reason for this is that your commitment to each other and to God should be your focus on this day-when you are in a church, you are more likely to be focusing on what you are undertaking rather than on the weather, trees, etc.

The people who call themselves 'Catholic' priests and advertise to marry you are not affiliated with the RC church (rentapriest, white robed monk, etc.). These are typically men who have broken their vows with the church. The church will not recognize a marriage performed by these types of people.

Good luck to you!

Kris, we're also on the hunt for an officiant. We're both Catholic but non-practicing so we're not getting married in church.

We have an appt with Fr. Tom McCormack this weekend, he's a vendor on this site. He's a Catholic priest who left the church, and he can personalize your ceremony. He comes very highly recommended from a lot of brides here, so I'm very excited about meeting him. We spoke on the phone and he's very down to earth and personable.

Good luck!!!

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Posted by johnsae

Pastor April (a vendor on here) specializes in this kind of ceremony....I am using her and she is great!

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Me too! I was just about to suggest her. Also Pastor April was raised catholic so she will understand what you are looking for!

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Posted by cindyandkevin

We have an appt with Fr. Tom McCormack this weekend, he's a vendor on this site. He's a Catholic priest who left the church, and he can personalize your ceremony. He comes very highly recommended from a lot of brides here, so I'm very excited about meeting him. We spoke on the phone and he's very down to earth and personable.

Good luck!!!

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He's fabulous! What a wonderful down to earth person...great speaker too! I've recommended him to a few brides. Suezboss was just recently married and said he was great! Check out her review...
She, like us, wanted him in his robe, etc, but he will come in suit if your FH prefers that. He'll tailor the ceremony to your specifications. He's great!

We're using Rev. Deb (Ceremonies of the Heart). We met with her recently and booked her. We just felt connected. Anyway, she was raised Catholic and so were we, but we are not religious at all.

good luck, for us, this was a really big decision and a really big deal.

Ladies -thanks so much for all of the advice.

Regarding priests who are no longer affiliated with a RC Church...why? Was it because they were kicked out? And, when they say they are Catholic priests who belong to a Religious Order or 'Good Shepard...something or other church' What does all this mean? I don't want some clown that was booted from the Catholic church for god only knows what reason marrying us.

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Posted by Kris516

Ladies -thanks so much for all of the advice.

Regarding priests who are no longer affiliated with a RC Church...why? Was it because they were kicked out? And, when they say they are Catholic priests who belong to a Religious Order or 'Good Shepard...something or other church' What does all this mean? I don't want some clown that was booted from the Catholic church for god only knows what reason marrying us.

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Kris-you have FM