Catholic Online Forum

I have been married twice. The first marriage, which took place in a Catholic church, was to a non practicing Catholic and he had the marriage annulled when he remarried. The second, a civil ceremony, was to a non Catholic, and he remarried also. I have remained unremarried in the 14 yrs since that divorce. He passed away recently. What is my current status in the eyes of the church? Widowed? Or would I still have to file for an anullment?

--Angelica

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angelica

Angelica,

I've move this topic from the New Converts section to here so that it will get the appropriate attention.

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Ian DC
Blessed Ever Virgin Mary -- Sanctuary and resting-place of the Blessed Trinity where God dwells in greater and more divine splendour than anywhere else in the universe

Angelica,

I'll first state that, for certainty's sake, this needs to be handled by someone authorized to do so at your local parish.

That said, whether or not your second marriage was a valid marriage is no longer at issue (from the standpoint of whether or not you are free to marry again) because the man has passed away.

What is at issue is your first marriage. You state that he obtained an annulment. Was that declaration issued from a Church tribunal, or from some other court (i.e. a civil court)? If from a Church tribunal, then the impediment of a prior attempt at marriage is removed and you would be free to marry from that perspective. If not from a Church tribunal, then this first marriage would still be presumed valid and would need to be investigated. You would not be free to marry until you received a declaration of nullity from a Catholic tribunal.

In any case, you may also want to avail yourself of the sacrament of reconciliation if you have been away from the Church for awhile or have not previously dealt with this situation within the sacrament of reconciliation, especially with regard to how the second marriage was attempted. As baptized Catholics, we are required to be married according to the Catholic form of marriage, unless we receive permission from the bishop through our priest to be married according to a different form. If permission is not first received, then the marriage is invalid because of lack of form and a Catholic knowingly breaking this requirement would be committing a grave sin.

Please take up this matter with your local parish and priest for your peace of mind, and best wishes to you!

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Dean
Most people's sense of history goes back to breakfast time - Benjamin Netanyahu

The first marriage was annulled by a Catholic tribunal, it's an official Catholic church annulment. I still have the document in my files.

I was not Catholic during those marriages, am in RCIA at the present time.

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angelica

Welcome Angelica!

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Daisy Martin

If you received a declaration of nullity from the Tribunal, regarding the first putative marriage, then you are free to marry. The second attempt isn't an issue since the man in question is deceased.

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Jules Xx


What will become of sinners?

Btw, welcome home

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Jules Xx


What will become of sinners?

Angelica, yes, if that is the case, then the impediment of an existing marriage is removed and you are free to marry from that standpoint.

And Godspeed on your journey through RCIA!

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Dean
Most people's sense of history goes back to breakfast time - Benjamin Netanyahu

If the previous spouse is dead, then there is no impediment to you marrying in the future-- that there was a decree of nullity from a Catholic tribunal means you were already free to marry if you had wished.

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K. Ann Seeton

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." --Aristotle (but the concept is found in John Paul II's books The Acting Person and Love and Responsibility as well.)

Quicksilver to Gold
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