Question:
Answer:
Does a couple who are Catholic converts who had annulments approved need their marriage blessed?
First, we need to clarify what you mean by “Catholic converts.” If you mean two baptized Protestants who are seeking to come into full communion with the Catholic Church, and who were each previously married only once to other baptized Protestants, they would not need a convalidation. Canon lawyer Edward Peters explains why:
In brief, if the facts are as you describe them, your friends will not need to have their marriage to each other convalidated by Church authorities upon becoming Catholic. As soon as both annulment petitions are formally granted (assuming this is done and assuming there were no other unusual factors present—your letter suggests none), your friends’ marriage to each other will automatically be recognized by the Church and will be presumed to be both valid and sacramental.
Here’s why: At the time your friends married each other, the only canonical obstacle to their wedding was ligamen, the fact of their prior marriage bonds (canon 1085). But if annulments are declared for both prior marriages, that means that, at the time of their marriage to each other, your friends were canonically free to contract marriage, and the manner in which they chose to marry would have been lawful for them at the time. Thus, their second marriage could be recognized without any further qualifications.
Implicit in Peters’ response is that a marriage between two baptized Protestants is itself a sacramental marriage which, if validly contracted, would be indissoluble (CCC 1601; see 1643-1644). Thus the need for going through the annulment process. In contrast, a marriage between two unbaptized person can be dissolved.
However, you may be referencing a case in which two previously married and divorced baptized Protestants became Catholics. Subsequent to their coming into full communion with the Church, they met and became interested in each other, and then sought declarations of nullity (annulments) regarding their respective previous marriages. While waiting for the marriage tribunal to adjudicate their previous marriages, which can typically take about 15-18 months, they became impatient and were married civilly and yet invalidly as Catholics.
If they both subsequently received annulments, they would then need to have their marriage to each other convalidated, since they were bound by Church law when they decided to marry civilly. Peters addresses this scenario as well:
How would this question differ for Catholics? . . . Well, if two Catholics, previously married to others and subsequently divorced, sought to marry in the Church, virtually any priest would have told them “No way, not without an annulment” (canon 1085 again). Unfortunately, such Catholics not infrequently then turn to civil magistrates for their wedding. That kind of wedding ceremony would be a violation of the requirement of canonical form which binds most Catholics (canons 1108 and 1117), meaning that, without an annulment followed by “convalidation” (canon 1160), such a second marriage would not be recognized in the Church (emphasis added).
Also, prior to their convalidation, such a couple would be wise to repent for their disobedience and receive absolution in the sacrament of confession. If you are not sure of your situation, I suggest you consult your parish pastor and diocesan tribunal representatives for clarification.
Further, a “radical sanation” (canons 1161-1165) is typically sought when 1) a fallen-away Catholic marries a non-Catholic who is otherwise not impeded to marry; 2) the Catholic person subsequently repents and seeks to reconcile with the Church, including having the marriage validated; 3) and yet the non-Catholic party refuses to go through with the exchange of consent because he or she thinks their original marriage to each was entered into validly. In such a case, the Catholic party would seek a radical sanation, in which the exchange of consent (see CCC 1625ff.) is not formally required but is otherwise shown to exist on the part of both parties. Again, check as needed with your pastor and diocesan officials.