Reverting Catholic/Anglican wedding ?

[Splittinghairs1]

Hoping some wise MumsNetters can answer this for me ahead of a possible conversation with a priest. NC for this post.

DH and I have not been at all religious. We married in the Anglican church in his village for sentimental reasons. The vicar was fine with this as DH was baptised Anglican and I was baptised Roman Catholic.

Now I am thinking about rejoining the Catholic Church after many years. Would the Church recognise our marriage? I am really mot interested in going through another marriage ceremony.

The information I can find suggests that if neither of us had ever been RC the marriage would be recognised, and if I had been a practising Catholic marrying outside the Church without permission the marriage would not be recognised. We are in a kind of middle state. TIA

Your marriage is not recognised as valid by the Catholic Church, but you don't have to go through another ceremony. The ordinary process to regularise a marriage contracted without dispensation from canonical form (the official term for what you did) is through something called convalidation. This means another marriage ceremony in the Catholic Church (although it can be as small as you like, as long as there is a public exchange of vows, it doesn't have to be a big, elaborate celebration). However, if this is not possible, for example because the non-Catholic spouse objects, then you can go through something called radical sanation, which regularises the marriage through paperwork without a ceremony of any kind. If you explain your decision to the priest, and tell him that you feel radical sanation is the best option for you, he is likely to agree (although I can't guarantee that every priest is well-informed and well-disposed!). It's not a rare situation.

The information I can find suggests that if neither of us had ever been RC the marriage would be recognised, and if I had been a practising Catholic marrying outside the Church without permission the marriage would not be recognised. We are in a kind of middle state.
This is incorrect. You are right that if neither of us had ever been RC, the marriage would be valid. But the prohibition on marrying outside the Church without dispensation applies to all Catholics, regardless of whether or not they are practising. This is why, incidentally, we have restrictions and courses of instruction for parents wanting their child baptised - because baptism in the Catholic Church brings obligations and responsibilities as well as rights. Anyone who is baptised Catholic (or received into the Church later) is considered under canon law to be a Catholic for life.

I should add, by the way, on a less legal level, that many people who are practising Catholics are in irregular marriages. If I were you, I would return to the Church first and settle in to the parish. They won't be quizzing you about the validity of your marriage as soon as you walk through the door. It would be good to get it sorted out, but for your own benefit rather than any external reasons.

I am in no hurry to have this conversation. Indeed I am introverted enough that I do prefer to skip another ceremony, but DH would definitely object and that is the main obstacle.

Great thanks for your help, @Fink

Similar to my relationship, but we engaged with the Catholic Church before we married in a C of W church - met the priest several times before our wedding and the RC church officially recognised our wedding.

Thank you, @KnickerlessParsons . And I love your username

Thank you. 😁
The RC church we liaised with was very relaxed about the whole thing.
The priest's attitude was "better a religious non RC marriage" than no marriage or a non religious marriage.
He took the same attitude about the religion of any children of the marriage too - wasn't concerned about them not being brought up as RC - more that they were part of a stable family relationship.

We did have our band read in both my DH's mother's RC church and the C of W church where we were married though (and the church in the parish where we lived).

Neither of us was/is particularly religious - we followed the process for our parents' sakes really.

*bans

This is interesting and encouraging

The potential issue is that you can’t know what the priest will say until you begin the conversation