Catholic Annulment Experiences

Your post is kind of...hard to follow. Can you clarify?

We have to go through an annulment through the catholic church in order to be married there. We sent in the forms but are waiting for them to say that our first marriages weren't valid or if they were valid in their eyes we will definitely have to go another route. So it is a waiting game right now. We cannot set a date in stone yet. I was just curious if anyone else has gone through this.

I personally have not been through this, but a friend went through it 20 years ago. She converted when she married her husband. They were married about 10 years before divorcing. He left the Catholic faith after their very bitter divorce. A few years later, she met and became engaged to another guy who was Catholic and both requested an annulment so they could marry. The ex-spouses were notified and both were very upset about the request to annul the marriage. The process takes about 16 months, but because the spouses were against it, it took almost 26 months for their annulment to be approved. They had to bring witnesses who were privy to the relationship. I testified on behalf of my friend. It was very uncomfortable for me to discuss with complete strangers what she had confided to me. But it helped.

FYI: if you have not already done so, advise your witnesses they may ask some questions that may be very sensitive and private. However, they should be as open as possible as the information is confidential. Or at least that's what I was told by the priest.

Hope this helps.

Just so you know, it is very difficult to obtain and is not taken lightly by the church.

I started the process but soon became frustrated with the waiting and endless paperwork so I gave up. I hope your annulment doesn't take too long.

Thank you so much for your comment. Both families (fiance and mine) are aware of the testimonies they have to give. We were told by our Parish we could expedite the process so I hope that it will go fairly quickly.

@Rena S is there more paperwork than just the 65 or so questionairre form thing we had to fill out?

My mom had her marriage to my dad annulled years ago. The process definitely took well over a year, did your priest indicate how long yours would take?

Question: if you're going through RCIA now, was your first marriage catholic? I was under the impression you only needed to annul Catholic marriages, and purely secular marriages are never seen as valid. I could be wrong though.

I don't have similar experience but I can offer a suggestion. My fiancee and I are Roman Catholic and wanted a catholic marriage. For a number of reasons, it was not practical to have a church wedding which is required. We found a denomination of catholicism that has a few, but significant, differences from the Roman Catholic Church including they will marry divorcees. It's the Old Catholic Church. It is one of the few denominations that is recognized by the Vatican.

@Lori: For a person who was either Catholic or previously married to a Catholic, and did not marry according to the canonical form of marriage (in front of a Catholic priest or deacon with two witnesses), and if the Catholic Church's permission was not obtained for this marriage (called a "dispensation from canonical form"), then the Church could process this case as a "Lack of Form" instead of an annulment. However, if either a) neither party to the first marriage was Catholic, or b) the first marriage was according to the canonical form of marriage, an annulment is necessary in order to be married in the Catholic church.

http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/resources/life-and-family/marriage/catholic-marriage-and-annulments/

All marriages need an annulment unless if I was Catholic and was married outside of the church then it would be considered lack of form. Then it would not be considered valid anyway.

One of our main reasons for doing this is because we want his dad to marry us. It would be so special if we could make that happen. I did read up on the Old Catholiic Church. I don' t know if his dad could marry us there since he is Roman Catholic.

Ok 2d bride explained it better. Mine was the lazy way. Forgive me I am sick!

Wait. You want your father to be the officiant? Unless he is a priest or other church official, the marriage cannot be a religious one, officially. Of course, officiants can emulate a religious ceremony, but the marriage would be technically categorized as "civil."

If her dad is a deacon, he can do it. Right?

When I went through RCIA forever ago, there was a couple who was trying to get an annulment. They were waiting for about a year. It has to go through the diocese, which could take a while.

Old Catholic Church clergy preside over weddings between any catholic people. See http://oldcatholicpaulists.org for a particular sect of the church. Our officiant is a monsignor of the Old Catholic Paulists.

I started the process over 5 yrs ago so I can't recall exactly what paperwork but they basically wanted a blow by blow of our 14 year marriage so maybe that's why it seemed endless. I also knew my ex husband prob wouldn't cooperate and def not his family .

My fiances dad is a deacon

I know someone who went through it - it took years. The Church does not make it easy at all.

I think it is all bull-honkey. My FH is Roman Catholic (though really he is basically a NPC - Non-practicing Catholic since he only goes to church on Easter and Christmas). I'm divorced, and neither me nor my ex were Catholic, therefore my FH's Roman Catholic parish saw it as a valid marriage. My ex and I filed no-contest. It was completed in 4 months and only cost $200. The church told us that the annulment has no estimated timeframe and could be upwards of 2 years or more and would be over $700. I immediately began looking for a new ceremony space. Needless to say, we're not going that route. Sorry to hear you're still waiting and having to push back your date!

I am currently going through the annulment process, and it has been so disheartening. I am not Catholic ( raised Lutheran and currently in RCIA) but my fiance really wants to be married in the church. If I had known that a non-catholic needed an annulment, I would have started the process years ago. We want to get married in the fall so badly and my witnesses have not even received their papers yet. I filed everything in October. I was told 12-18 months. I just want to plan our wedding, and I feel like I am being punished and cant move on with my life and the wedding plans, even though I was the one sinned against. (He cheated and had serious addiction problems) I am worried that by the time the annulment goes through (PRAYING IT DOES), all the dates will be booked. I am just so sad by all of this. The priest told us that we could get married outside the church and have the marriage blessed after the anulment goes through and brought up to a sacrament in the church but my Fiance is still feeling it isn't right.. Any insight on how long these are really taking? I am in Michigan and was told they only have one person working at the Archdiocese on annulments! I hope your annulment goes through quickly!

View Quoted Comment We were in the exact same situation. My (non Catholic) fiance submitted his paperwork in February and he was granted the annulment at the end of October. Originally we really wanted to get married in the spring but we have just set a date for the end of August which actually works better due to some other things moving around for next year. It has been a rollercoaster of emotions but I am learning to release control and I have a deeper appreciation for sacramental marriage that makes me even more excited for our wedding day! I hope the process is moving along for you!