Meeting with the priest...

It will probably depend a lot on how traditional the priest/church is. My FH and I are both Catholic, so I can’t speak specifically to your situation, but our meetings with the priest have focused on our relationship and how to make it stronger. FH and I are living together (obviously not something the Catholic Church approves of), but the priest knows and has never made us feel bad/try to talk us out of it.

You would have to look into the vows a little more, but I’m pretty sure the language around children has to do with raising them “in the faith”, which could mean Christian.

View Quoted Comment Thank you. My church is a little more on the traditional side and the priest that will be interviewing us is a lot more traditional than the others so I’m a little nervous!

My fiance is not Catholic, but I am. We are doing marriage prep in Denver, and getting married in Louisiana, so there are two priests involved. Both priests have asked if my fiance is willing to raise the children Catholic.

Do you have reason to believe your fiance will not want to raise your children Catholic?

View Quoted Comment He thinks they shouldn’t be “forced” into any religion and should decide when they’re old enough to do so. I think he feels like he’s betraying his religion. It’s something we have to talk about some more and find a solution to.

View Quoted Comment Thanks for the response!

I would talk with your priest and ask questions. My fiance and I are both catholic so we were different, but our priest was very easy going and made us feel comfortable. Our meetings focused on our relationship and we also had to take marriage classes. I'm sure it will all work out for the best, just talk with your church and be open and honest. Best of luck to you! 😊

We just had our first meeting a few weeks ago! I am Catholic, FH is Christian. My priest pretty much just asked us basic questions like where we met, how long we've been together, why we want to get married, that kind of stuff. After that we talked about what marriage means in the Catholic church and then the priest collected our contact information so he could send us the link to the foccus test and set us up for marriage classes. I had to promise to raise any children I have in the Catholic faith but since FH isn't Catholic, he didn't. Then the priest had us take turns leaving the room and asked us if we were getting married in our own accord or if we felt pressured into marriage or if we had any previous marriages, mental health issues or anything stopping us from being able to have kids.

View Quoted Comment I was SO scared for our first meeting. I dont know this priest as well as I had our last priest and he is VERY strict. I was so scared he was gonna be super judgy and not let us get married or something (I'm kind of dramatic so my mind always goes to the worst case scenario haha.) But the priest was very easygoing and made sure we were both comfortable with everything and well informed about what we needed to do next. He told my FH that he doesn't have to convert unless he just wants to, but they aren't going to force him and when we told him we lived together he just kind of cringed and told us to maybe sleep in separate rooms. Lol

View Quoted Comment Thank you!! We will definitely be open and honest. We have to meet with the strictest priest but we hope that it’s not as bad as we think lol.

View Quoted Comment Thank you so much. This was extremely helpful and has helped ease my nerves lol. The only think I’m worried about is the kids part because he doesn’t want to make that promise but he knows I will. I’m just hoping the priest will be a little more laid back!

View Quoted Comment Well Grace, I’m just like you! My mind is all over the place and I can’t help but worry that he will not want us to get married! I know I won’t be totally at ease until we have that first meeting but this was really helpful.

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As a convert into the Catholic church (from a Baptist/Wesleyan background), I understand not wanting to force the children into something they're not ready for. I'm sure there are resources out there that will help him understand things that are different from protestant denominations. If he would have taken the children to church anyway, then the only real difference is infant baptism, and plenty of protestant denominations practice that.

View Quoted Comment Yes, he is hesitant towards infant baptism (that’s his only issue, really). He is not comfortable with the idea but hasn’t said absolutely no to it. I’m hoping I can show him why we do what we do and why it’s so important. Are there any books you read that helped you with your decision to convert?

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Honestly, reading the church fathers, as well as watching LizziesAnswers on YouTube. She's a convert as well. I don't know if your parish has a Formed code that y'all can use to get access to those resources, but there's a documentary type thing on there called "Convinced: Why Would Anyone Become Catholic?"

I will definitely look into these! Thank you very much!

View Quoted Comment It is pretty nerve racking waiting for that first meeting but the church is pretty understanding! Good luck to you guys!