Godparents - Nutley,NJ

If your husband was not baptized in any religion than I don't believe he is any religion (in the eyes of the chuch). If he wishes to become Catholic than he can go through the RCIA program in which he will make his sacraments.

I don't believe you both need to be Catholic in order to be married in the Catholic Church. I am sure they would be thrilled if he wanted to 'convert' and go through the RCIA program.

As for godparents, are your fiancee's picks practicing any religion? I know some priest will let you have one Catholic godparent and one Christian witness but they would need a letter from their pastor. If they are not practicing any religion (or a non christian religion) that could be a problem.

If you are not a practicing Catholic or have a church to call home you may want to consider attending one and registering with one. That would be your ultimate first step. Then I would set up an appointment with the pastor to get all of your questions answered.

I suggest that you call the church in which you want to be married and ask these questions. Get accurate information.

If your husband was not baptized, he is not Catholic. If he was baptized but not confirmed or received Eucharist, that's different and technically he's still Catholic but should still go through confirmation and Eucharist to be able to take Eucharist.

That aside...a mixed marriage is when a baptized Catholic marries some who is a baptized non-Catholic (e.g. someone who is protestant) or a non-baptized person (this would include those who follow a non-Christian religion as well as those who are atheist or agnostic or have simply never been baptized even if they follow a Christian religion). Marriages like these can be done with a dispensation from the bishop. You have to meet with your pastor, fill out some paperwork, and they will approve this. A marriage like this is "valid" and recorded by the church but is not sacramental. Marriages like this are usually performed in a separate wedding ceremony instead of with a full Mass.

Only one godparent needs to be a Catholic in good standing. The other can be anything. These are not necessarily the people who would raise your child if something were to happen to you, but they do vow to help raise your child in the faith and support your child in his or her spiritual journey...keep that in mind as you choose.

You will find that if you share your intent to raise your child in the Catholic faith and practice it yourself, your parish will be very happy to get you and your husband properly married instead of "living in sin" and will help you an accommodate you in getting to a state of marriage as quickly and easily as possible.

You should check with your church to see what their rules are.

I believe that you can get married in a Catholic church (after completing the classes in preparation) in only one of you is married, but you cannot have a Catholic Mass. It would only be a blessing of the marriage.

Also, regarding Godparents, one of the Godparents must be a confirmed Catholic. The other needs to be a Christian and will technically be called a sponsor or witness on the certificate. That is what I remember being told in our Baptism class.

If you have a specific Church in mind, you should call the priest and speak with him directly. Some priests are more lenient than others. The priest at my Church is very "by-the-book". My husband and I were married at the Lutheran Church I grew up in, and we did not have a Catholic priest present. A few years later, I decided to convert to Catholicism and went through RCIA. The priest came up to me two weeks before I was supposed to be received into the Church and told me that my marriage was invalid because we weren't married in the Catholic Church and I'd have to have a convalidation ceremony before I could be confirmed. There is a lot of ppwk involved in this (3 witnesses have to fill out these forms and then be interviewed by a priest) and I knew this would never happen in two weeks time. He agreed to allow it, but was very hesitant (even though it was his fault for not telling me sooner). He made me promise that I'd have this done ASAP. We had our two youngest baptized there and at least one of the godparents had to be a practicing Catholic who was in full communion with the Church.

You can be married in the Church even if he is not Catholic (if he hasn't been baptized, confirmed or made communion, he's not Catholic... he hasn't been initiated nor does he participate in the Eucharist. If he WANTS to be Catholic, he should do RCIA whether it is required for your wedding or not). You will need to do all the marriage preparation classes, however, and meet with the priest etc. Many parishes, however, will require that you are members of the parish to be married there for something like 6 months or a year prior. Also, be aware that if you are living together, unmarried, many priests will ask that you stop and live apart for some time before they will marry you. Remember, marriage is a Sacrament in the Church (just like baptism, or confirmation) and you are agreeing to uphold the teachings of the Church.

In order to be a Godparent, the person MUST be a CONFIRMED Catholic. There is no exception. That being said, your child only needs one true Godparent to be baptized. If you want a non-Catholic person involved, they can stand up as a "Christian Witness," but they may need to be a baptized Christian to make that work. The role of a Godparent is to help you raise the child as a CATHOLIC. If the person you are considering is not Catholic, you may need to spend some more time really thinking about why you want them in this role.

Call the baptism coordinator at your parish (and the wedding coordinator too) and get started in the process. They'll be able to answer all your questions and help you through whatever you need to do.

Hope this helps.

It depends on how strict your church is. You can have a catholic wedding if just one of you is catholic, they just can't participate in the Eucharist. As for god parents, our church required proof that both were practicing catholics by getting letters from their parishes, but I also know catholic churches that did not require that. You need to talk to the priest at the church you are considering.

I am Catholic and believe it depends on the priest/church. Our priest would marry my husband and I in a Catholic church, mass and all. I'm a baptized Catholic but my husband is not, it wasn't an issue for us. When we had our two babies baptized in the Catholic Church, we had 4 different godparents, all Catholic but one wasn't confirmed...again not an issue.

When I was asked to be my niece's godparent, I actually had to have a document signed and notarized by my church/priest stating that I was a member of the church. My church didn't require any of that or even ask for that matter. The Catholic church my brother attends actually does not even WANT you to attend masses unless you are a dedicated member, seems unreal to me. I'm glad my church is a bit more laid back.

Talk to your priest because I understand it may depend on what your specific church requires.

Check with the church you plan to marry and baptize in. I'm not catholic but my husband is. We got married in my church but we still went through pre-cana at his church. Both my kids have been baptized/christened in our catholic church. For our church only one godparent needs to be catholic.

Hmm, I am a bit confused. How is it that your fiance is Catholic if he has not been baptized, received the Eucharist, or been confirmed? Those are the 3 sacraments of initiation into the Catholic Church, so if he hasn't received any of them, he is not Catholic. Does he wish to be? Do you, as a couple, intend on practicing Catholicism, or are you just interested in in for now so that you can get married in the Church?

As for the issue of Godparents--the Church requires that at least 1 Godparent be a practicing Catholic. Non-Catholic Christians can be Christian Witnesses.

I believe in my church at least ONE of the godparents has to be catholic. That was some years ago, so I'm not sure if that has changed.

Your husband doesn't have to be Catholic to be married in the Catholic church, as long as you are. If he is baptized (in any religion), it is easier, but if he is not, it is just more paper work. I had a Catholic wedding without communion because half the guests (including my husband) weren't Catholic. My mom wanted me to get a dispensation to let my husband get communion during our wedding ceremony (she did a lot of research and found it was possible), but to me, it was more than just that my husband wasn't able to have communion. I didn't want to alienate half the guests by not letting them participate in the whole ceremony. My mom really wanted communion at the wedding until I explained what the priest explained to me. He liked performing marriages without communion because then the Eucharist, which is the main event during regular mass, isn't competing with the main purpose we are all gathered at this ceremony: the marriage.

They've also recently changed the rules on baptism (another thing my mom researched). Only one godparent needs to be Catholic. My oldest daughter has one Catholic and one non-Catholic godparent.

one person has to be catholic and you will have to go through the marriage prep class. as far as godparents if it is a couple one of them has to be catholic.

Check with your church it seems rules vary.

As kids my grandmother made us go thru all the sacraments required by the church. In their rules you are required to have all the sacraments in order to marry in the catholic church. The godparents also had to be a 'practicing' catholic not just baptized. BOTH potential godparents not just one. If your fiancé is not even baptized he is not catholic at all and will need to start from the beginning.

I converted to Lutheran a long time ago when I married my lutheran husband. His did all the sacraments but they were not recognized in the catholic church. I didnt mind marrying in a lutheran church as they were fine with where I did my sacraments as it was not required to marry. My sister wanted me to be godmother to her son, she actually told the church I was practicing catholic, I even had to take a class at the church in order to be godmother. It was crazy and the service was horrible, like an assembly line, and they wouldnt give her the certificate until she gave them a check.

Godparents dont mean what the used to.

Good luck

When my husband and I were married, he was not Catholic, nor had he ever been baptized. We were married by a deacon who was absolutely fabulous about our variations of active faith through out our extended family. We had our wedding in the church after going through 4 months of sacramental prep. Remember, marriage is a sacrament in the eyes of the church the same way First Holy Communion or Baptism is. We did not however, have a Mass since my husband would not have been able to participate.

I have never heard of a godparent in Catholic Baptism being a non baptised individual, though. I would talk to the priest or deacon you are asking to handle the Baptism, as I think that they will be able to sort you through it.

My husband isn't catholic and we got married in a catholic church (12 yrs ago). The only requirement was that he showed he was baptized. As far as I know godparents have to be catholic, and need a letter from their church.

Only one of you have to be catholic to be married in a catholic church. Also, only one of the godparents have to be catholic

There are rules all parishes should abide by, but they all vary in their "interpretation" of them.
As far as godparents are concerned: one needs to be Catholic, the other can be what's called a Christian Witness. That being said, the Catholic godparent needs to demonstrate s/he is fulfilling the role of a Catholic (ie is a member of a parish, got married in Catholic church,etc).

I had my son christened and as far as I know only 1 "Godparent" has to be catholic, call your church and ask, but my friend is my son's godmother and his godfather is my brother in law and he wasn't baptized or anything like that. Good luck and congrats!!

I am catholic I married a jewish man in church over 20 yrs ago
Also 1 of my kids godparents was a lutherin no problem with church at all Go and ask all the questions you have they just might need you to be an active menber of the church (register and envelopes)

well its been a long time ago. We were married almost 34 yrs ago in the Catholic church and I am not catholic. We had to go to classes, but so did everyone else. We are also Godparents to my best friends daughter, and again, I am not catholic. The rule then was that if you were married in the church, you qualified to be a godparent. You really need to call your church and ask. Things have changed I'm sure. Have been to other baptisms but the godparents were catholic so I have not come across that issue.

My sister's husband isn't Catholic and they were able to get married by a Catholic priest. He didn't have to go through the Catholic sacraments. I think it may depend on the church too whether or not both godparents need to be Catholic. Whether you not you're religious now, I think it's great you're trying to start your baby in the church. We're not particularly religious but both my husband and I value the training, values and discipline the church instilled in us as kids. Many people go back to religion after they have kids... My husband also thought godparents would be the ones to raise our children if anythign happened to us. Legally it has no bearing. Perhaps if you didn't designate someone else and there was a battle a judge would take it into account but it's not binding at all. Your will dictates that. My daughters have 2 different sets of godparents as did my sister and I. No way would we split up our girls if something happened to my husband and I.

Make an appointment to talk with your priest. Hopefully you have a nice one like our Monsignor and the priest that baptised my niece. They usually like you to go to them and ask questions. To get married in the catholic church only one person has to be catholic, but some catholic churches do require you both to attend marriage classes to prepare for marriage whether both are catholic or not. As for baptism, one God parent has to be catholic and received all the sacraments except for the one for becoming a priest/nun. I am one of my niece's godparents. I was baptised catholic, but didn't have any of the other sacraments, so Father "Z" gave me lessons on being catholic and the sacraments for 3-4 weeks. Then performed the missing sacraments on me. So he gave me my first communion, confession, and comfirmation all in one day. My brother-in-law's brother was the other God parent and he was methodist.

My sister in law took classes before she and my brother were married then they were married in the catholic church. Check witht the parish about the requirements of the god parents.