Catholic ceremony in Mexico - is it allowed to have a catholic marrying non-christian??

[ornxoxo]

Hello all.  I narrowed down my resort choice to either Dreams or Now resorts without thinking about the catholic ceremony.  After researching here, there are other few resorts that have chapels within.  Before I go any further, I am trying to find out whether or not the priest in Mexico would even allow a catholic to marry a non-christian?  Does anyone have any experience with this?

[Pierre Violle]

Hi there!

 

There are plenty of very nice churchs & Chapel for a catholic ceremony in he Riviefra Maya.

 

Choose yours visiting   catholic weddings in the Riviera Maya on my Blog!

 

 

 

 

PIERRE VISUAL STUDIO - Wedding & TTD Photography
 

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[Moments That Matter]

That's a difficult question, ornxoxo - as some would say that Catholics are non-christian as well........so really it's a matter of definition of the 2 views..........anyway, I don't think a priest would refuse to marry you on those grounds.

 

That being said, this IS Mexico, so who really knows ?!??! and it may boil down to it depending on which people you're dealing with.....so you're often left with a bit of a mystery .......hmmm

 

It's probably best to get confirmation from the specific  priest you're considering - directly.

 

[LCB803]

Originally Posted by ornxoxo 

 

Hello all.  I narrowed down my resort choice to either Dreams or Now resorts without thinking about the catholic ceremony.  After researching here, there are other few resorts that have chapels within.  Before I go any further, I am trying to find out whether or not the priest in Mexico would even allow a catholic to marry a non-christian?  Does anyone have any experience with this?

Hi ornxoxo!

 

We are having a Catholic ceremony next November that will be legal (not "symbolic"). To have a legal, religious ceremony, we are required to 1) be married by a priest, and 2) be married in a Catholic chapel. (You can also have a legal marriage in Mexico by filling out a lot of paperwork, submitting blood tests, and paying some administrative fees... I've heard going this route is a lot of work!). 

 

I do not believe that the priest will marry you in a truly "Catholic" ceremony unless you are both Catholic and unless the ceremony is in a Catholic chapel. It's my understanding that these are Church requirements (i.e., from the Vatican), not local ones. You can probably have a symbolic ceremony performed by a priest though, at the venue of your choosing. However, if you're going to go the symbolic route, having a priest seems unnecessary to  me... 

 

We are actually bringing our own priest from our local parish. This is apparently will require a lot of coordination between the Mexican parish and our own, back home; but it's worth it to us because we feel very strongly about our officiant being someone we know. It is also helpful that we are bringing our own priest because our wedding date is a Sunday since my photographer was already booked for the Saturday, and local Mexican Catholic priests are not available to do weddings on Sundays, as they must attend to their own parish duties. So, something else to think about. 

 

Finally, if it is your intention to have a Catholic ceremony, Mexico is the right place! In researching where in the Caribbean we wanted to have our destination wedding, it quickly became clear that it would be very difficult to find a Catholic chapel elsewhere in the Caribbean. Mexico has definitely solved that problem! Available options abound. If you do plan to have a Catholic ceremony and your resort doesn't have a Catholic chapel available, contact me and I'll send you a list of good options that we found while looking for our own ceremony/reception venue. 

 

Good luck!

 

Lydia

[ornxoxo]

Thank you, Lydia!  I have to find out more about the catholic ceremony if my FI is not catholic, as it will determine where my resort choice will be.

 

I am so undecided if I should do a legal and catholic ceremony at home and just do the beach ceremony in Mexico OR do the legal ceremony at home and catholic ceremony in Mexico.  Oh my god!!  I need to make a decision!!!!

[LiveLoveLaugh]

Hi ornxoxo,

 

Good advice from Lydia! 

 

I'm also getting married at a Catholic Church in Mexico in May 2013.  I contacted our church in the US to find out the requirements for a Catholic marriage.  It is not easy.  My fiancé has all of his sacraments completed, but I do not.  So I have been attending CCD classes every week.  It is a 13 week program, so its best to get started as soon as possible.  Our church in Mexico requires that the documentation be sent 2 months prior to the wedding date.  We decided not to do the 'legal' wedding in Mexico because of the cost.  You have to be there 4-5 days in advance with 2 witnesses and it was going to be another $600 for a legal ceremony.  We figured we would quietly go to City Hall the day before we leave and have our marriage certificate from the US.  

 

We are also doing a Sunday Catholic wedding in MX.  They pulled some strings to make it happen because our venue choice was already reserved for the Saturday.  The priest is bilingual, which is a relief for our American guests.

 

Good luck! 

[LiveLoveLaugh]

Hi ornxoxo,

 

Good advice from Lydia! 

 

I'm also getting married at a Catholic Church in Mexico in May 2013.  I contacted our church in the US to find out the requirements for a Catholic marriage.  It is not easy.  My fiancé has all of his sacraments completed, but I do not.  So I have been attending CCD classes every week.  It is a 13 week program, so its best to get started as soon as possible.  Our church in Mexico requires that the documentation be sent 2 months prior to the wedding date.  We decided not to do the 'legal' wedding in Mexico because of the cost.  You have to be there 4-5 days in advance with 2 witnesses and it was going to be another $600 for a legal ceremony.  We figured we would quietly go to City Hall the day before we leave and have our marriage certificate from the US.  

 

We are also doing a Sunday Catholic wedding in MX.  They pulled some strings to make it happen because our venue choice was already reserved for the Saturday.  The priest is bilingual, which is a relief for our American guests.

 

Good luck! 

[ornxoxo]

Thank you for sharing, LiveLoveLaugh!  Wow, you're so dedicated to go for the CCD classes! 

 

So you'll be having a reception on Saturday and catholic ceremony on Sunday?  Will the ceremony be within the resort?

[chickky311]

You can have a legal ceremony and a religious ceremony together.  Or you can just have the religious ceremony, which most refer to as the "symbolic" ceremony, and that can be done by anyone, Catholic or not.  You can always get legally married at home before the wedding in Mexico.  That's what I'm doing...the legal requirements for marrying in Mexico are crazy!

[chickky311]

You can have a legal ceremony and a religious ceremony together.  Or you can just have the religious ceremony, which most refer to as the "symbolic" ceremony, and that can be done by anyone, Catholic or not.  You can always get legally married at home before the wedding in Mexico.  That's what I'm doing...the legal requirements for marrying in Mexico are crazy!