ANNULMENTS

The Church presumes that all marriages are valid, binding spouses for life. However, when couples separate and divorce, the Church examines their marriage in detail to determine if some essential element was missing at the time of the wedding. If that fact is established, it means that the spouses did not have the kind of sacramental bond that binds them together for life. The Church offers the opportunity for a divorced person to have his/her previous marriage examined in terms of the essential elements of the marital bond. If an essential element is missing, then the Church issues a declaration of nullity (annulment) or invalidity and both parties to the previous marriage are free to marry in the eyes of the Catholic Church.

Since the Church presumes the validity of all preexisting marriages, anyone, whether Catholic or not, who seeks to be married in the Church and is divorced must have his or her previous marriage annulled. If the previous marriages are declared null, the petitioner is then free to celebrate a marriage in the Catholic Church or have an existing civil marriage “convalidated” - that is, celebrated sacramentally - by the Church.

If you are divorced and would like to petition the Church to have your previous marriage annulled or declared invalid by the Church, please contact the pastor via the parish office for more information on the process.