During wedding season, one of the common questions I am asked by engaged couples is why they cannot have a non-traditional Catholic wedding. In an age where the average cost of an American wedding is $30,000, and numerous television shows highlight extravagant, personalized weddings, people are often bewildered by the Church placing restrictions and requirements on “their special day.”
When at least one of the spouses is Catholic, the Church has certain requirements for weddings. These requirements constitute what is called the canonical form of marriage. Canonical form includes elements such as who may witness a marriage, when a marriage may take place, what must be included in the ceremony, and where the ceremony is to take place. Canonical form has a long and colorful history in the Church. In the Middle Ages, weddings often involved only the couple exchanging their consent privately. However, these weddings produced disastrous results as the spouses, usually the wife, could not prove that they were really married. This led to social problems such as abandoned spouses, children, and confused property and inheritance rights.
While clandestine marriages may have been the catalyst for the introduction of canonical form, there are more pastoral and theological reasons underlying these requirements. At a practical and pastoral level, engaged couples must meet with a priest at some point before their wedding. This ensures that they are given the opportunity to receive assistance and preparation prior to marrying. Pope Benedict XVI, in his address to the Tribunal of the Roman Rota on January 23, 2011, spoke at length about the necessity of better marriage preparation as a means to counter the prevalence of divorce. This requirement affords ministers the opportunity to reach out to engaged couples. The second, more theological reason for canonical form is to ensure that the wedding ceremony corresponds to the liturgical and ecclesial components of a sacramental celebration in the Church.
Most people would never imagine requesting that any other sacrament take place outdoors, or to a form of their choosing. Marriages are not private events, but public ecclesial ones. The spouses are declaring their commitment publicly, and so it is fitting that the celebration takes place in a church, where the focus is on the Eucharist. Couples are sometimes upset that their wedding cannot take place on a tropical beach, with a friend who was recently “ordained” on the Internet presiding. Yet it is important for these couples to decide if what they truly desire is a marriage centered on Christ, and, if so, whether their wedding ceremony will be consistent with the true significance of the marriage covenant. The requirements of canonical form are not present to restrict the spouses. On the contrary, they exist to enable the couple to have the opportunity to receive assistance from the Church’s ministers, and to have a fruitful celebration worthy of the dignity of marriage.
By Shannon Fossett, Canonist, Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland
When at least one of the spouses is Catholic, the Church has certain requirements for weddings. These requirements constitute what is called the canonical form of marriage. Canonical form includes elements such as who may witness a marriage, when a marriage may take place, what must be included in the ceremony, and where the ceremony is to take place. Canonical form has a long and colorful history in the Church. In the Middle Ages, weddings often involved only the couple exchanging their consent privately. However, these weddings produced disastrous results as the spouses, usually the wife, could not prove that they were really married. This led to social problems such as abandoned spouses, children, and confused property and inheritance rights.
While clandestine marriages may have been the catalyst for the introduction of canonical form, there are more pastoral and theological reasons underlying these requirements. At a practical and pastoral level, engaged couples must meet with a priest at some point before their wedding. This ensures that they are given the opportunity to receive assistance and preparation prior to marrying. Pope Benedict XVI, in his address to the Tribunal of the Roman Rota on January 23, 2011, spoke at length about the necessity of better marriage preparation as a means to counter the prevalence of divorce. This requirement affords ministers the opportunity to reach out to engaged couples. The second, more theological reason for canonical form is to ensure that the wedding ceremony corresponds to the liturgical and ecclesial components of a sacramental celebration in the Church.
Most people would never imagine requesting that any other sacrament take place outdoors, or to a form of their choosing. Marriages are not private events, but public ecclesial ones. The spouses are declaring their commitment publicly, and so it is fitting that the celebration takes place in a church, where the focus is on the Eucharist. Couples are sometimes upset that their wedding cannot take place on a tropical beach, with a friend who was recently “ordained” on the Internet presiding. Yet it is important for these couples to decide if what they truly desire is a marriage centered on Christ, and, if so, whether their wedding ceremony will be consistent with the true significance of the marriage covenant. The requirements of canonical form are not present to restrict the spouses. On the contrary, they exist to enable the couple to have the opportunity to receive assistance from the Church’s ministers, and to have a fruitful celebration worthy of the dignity of marriage.
By Shannon Fossett, Canonist, Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland
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