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Mel7274 · Feb 27, 2007, 12:55 PM

Ok...

I am engaged and I am out of work and have no health insurance which I need direly. My fiancé does have health insurance but I am not entitled to those benefits unless we are married. We are planning on having a civil ceremony at the courthouse in our county, to get the marital benefits we need. Is it at all possible to have a catholic wedding ceremony after the civil service? Would our marriage be recognized by God? We can not get married in the catholic church right away because our parish asks that they know a year in advance and we still have to complete "pre-cana."

Lowtax4eva · Feb 27, 2007, 01:46 PM

Ask your church leaders...

The civil ceremony is a marriage in legal terms only with no religious service attached... I'm not catholic but they may see this as a marriage under god even without the big ceremony, why couldn't you just do both at the same time?

J_9 · Feb 27, 2007, 02:33 PM

It all depends on your parish priest. My sister got married in Hawaii in December (it was a birthday gift from her fiancé to her). They will be renewing their vows in the Catholic Church in San Francisco this summer. Their priest there agrees that a renewal of vows is acceptable.

lacuran8626 · Mar 4, 2007, 09:37 PM

Originally Posted by Mel7274

Ok...

I am engaged and I am out of work and have no health insurance which I need direly. My fiance does have health insurance but I am not entitled to those benefits unless we are married. We are planning on having a civil ceremony at the courthouse in our county, to get the marital benefits we need. Is it at all possible to have a catholic wedding ceremony after the civil service? Would our marriage be recognized by God? We can not get married in the catholic church right away because our parish asks that they know a year in advance and we still have to complete "pre-cana."

My cousin was engaged to a man from another country, and had to marry him before his visa ran out so they had a civil ceremony. They then got pregnant. Even in a maternity wedding gown, the Catholic Church was happy to bless their marriage - a ceremony very similar to a traditional catholic wedding mass. Check with your church. Your priest might be willing to do a simple ceremony with you two and a few witnesses, perhaps at your parent's home or something like that and may be willing to work with you on the pre-cana requirements to speed it up a bit. Otherwise ask if you can schedule to have your civil marriage blessed after completing pre-cana.