Anullment (married no-catholic in civil ceremony) QUESTION from Kelly on May 13, 2002 I am a non practicing Catholic who was married to a non-Catholic in a civil ceremony in 1994. My ex refused to be married in a church. The divorce became final in 1999. I have since taken steps to rejoin the church in full. I am dating a wonderful man (a devout Catholic) and we plan to marry and would like to do so in the church. Is it necessary for me to anull the first marriage - as it did not place in church or with a church official officiating? If so how do I start the process?
ANSWER by John-Paul Ignatius, OLSM on May 20, 2002 Dear Miss Kelly:
Your question doesn't say whether your former husband was a baptized person, but it is my understanding that marriage between two validly baptized persons is valid -- even if not within the Church.
In any event, what you need to do is to contact your parish priest and he can begin the process of determining whether you need an annulment or not, and if so, get you started in the process.
It usually takes about a year to get an annulment, assuming an annulment is granted, so you may want to get started right away by contacting your local parish priest.
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