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A Word from the Director: The Catholic Church highly respects the tremendous dignity of the commitment made in marriage. Therefore, Catholics and those they marry may not marry a second time unless there are canonical reasons to declare the first attempt at marriage invalid. Unfortunately, in our American society,there often are reasons why someone did not validly marry the first time. Children remain legitimate if a marriage is declared null by the Church. Legitimacy is a function of civil law not Church law.

If you have been a partner in a failed marriage and would like to know whether your marriage was a valid one according to Church law, approach the pastor of any parish in the Archdiocese to begin the process of presenting a case to the tribunal. Do not be surprised if the pastor refers you to a lay person, deacon, or religious who is trained to present such cases. We have more than one hundred such procurator/advocates serving in the Archdiocese.

Your procurator will first investigate the baptismal status of you and your former spouse which determines what kind of case you will be presenting. If you are a Roman Catholic who married outside of the Church, your case is a lack of form that will take only a few weeks to process once we gather proof of your baptism and documentation about the marriage.

If neither you nor your former spouse was ever baptized in any Christian church, you could apply for a Pauline Privilege if you are now seeking to become a baptized Christian.

If either of you were married before the marriage in question, you may be presenting a ligamen case. Your procurator will help you determine this.

If one or both of you were baptized, you would likely present a formal case which would require you to respond to 44 questions about your background and that of your spouse, your courtship and the marriage itself. For this kind of case you would also need to name witnesses who could testify to some of the facts you present. Your procurator will help you choose the best people for this responsibility.

The place to begin is with a priest at any parish within the Archdiocese. If you are a non-Catholic hoping to marry a Catholic you may want to speak with the pastor of your intended spouse.

If you have general  questions about marriage issues, a good place to look for answers is www.OnceCatholic.org

Also, please view our brochure regarding invalid marriages.

Services Offered: Court of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati; handles all marriage cases and other judicial procedures.

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