Hi there. I was baptized Catholic although I was never confirmed. My fiance is Roman Catholic and we will be married by his uncle (a Catholic priest). However, I am hearing conflicting stories - do I need to be confirmed for us to be married. We will not have a full mass. I believe there are two ways to be married - one with a nuptial mass and one without. Please can someone shed some light on the subject ???

-- Juliette (juliedt@hotmail.com), October 25, 2004

Answers

don't know about the type of mass question. No, you do not need to be confirmed to be married in the catholic church, although you should be, as it is a sacrament.

-- paul h (dontSendMeMail@notAnAddress.com), October 25, 2004.

Juliette, there is something that is not clear from what you wrote.

When you refer to yourself as "baptized Catholic" and say that you will not have "a full Mass," that seems to imply that you formally left the Church and are now following a non-Catholic faith (or no faith at all). If that is true, then not only do you not need to be confirmed, but you cannot be confirmed as a Catholic.

However, if you have always remained a Catholic (though an unconfirmed one), then you almost certainly need to be confirmed prior to being married. Here is what the Latin Church's Code of Canon Law says about this:

Canon 1065 §1 Catholics who have not yet received the sacrament of Confirmation are to receive it before being admitted to Marriage, if this can be done without grave inconvenience. §2 So that the sacrament of Marriage may be fruitfully received, spouses are earnestly recommended that they approach the sacraments of Penance and the blessed Eucharist.

-- Gramps (Helping@Jim.com), October 25, 2004.

The bride and groom have the option of having their marriage ceremony take place together with a nuptial Mass, or by itself. Either way, they receive the same Sacrament of Marriage.

-- Steve (55555@aol.com), October 28, 2004.