Q: What is a convalidation?
A: A convalidation is an exchange of valid marital consent between parties, at least one of whom is Catholic, who are not married, but had previously attempted to marry.
Q: Why is it sometimes called “blessing a marriage?”
A: A convalidation is not a blessing of an existing marriage. This is a very frequent misunderstanding. For a convalidation to be necessary, the couple must have tried to marry previously but not actually formed a valid marriage bond.
It may be that convalidations are referred to as “blessings” because this avoids the topic of why the convalidation is required: there was not a valid marriage. It is easier, though incorrect, to ask a couple if they want to have their marriage blessed than it is to ask a couple if they would like to make their invalid marriage valid. The significant difference between a wedding and a convalidation is that in the case of a convalidation, there was already an attempt by the couple to marry. A wedding and a convalidation are similar, however, in that in both situations the parties were not married before the event, and are married afterwards.
Q: What does it mean for a marriage to be valid or invalid?
A: An invalid marriage is one that lacks something which it would require to become all a marriage should be. The validity of a marriage is established when the two parties exchange consent and the bond of marriage is formed between them. If the consent they exchange is inadequate to form the bond or is prevented from forming the bond, they would have an invalid marriage. All marriages are presumed to be valid until proven otherwise, even if the couple has civilly divorced.
Q: What could make a marriage invalid?
A: There are three ways a marriage can be invalid:
A marriage could be invalid because consent was exchanged while either party was personally prevented from entering marriage. In canon law, we call this person “impeded.” There are impediments of both divine origin, to which all are subject, such as already being married. There are also impediments of ecclesiastical origin, to which Catholics are subject, such as Catholics only being able to marry other baptized Christians. Since the latter is of ecclesiastical origin, it can be dispensed by ecclesiastical authority, which is why a bishop or someone he has appointed may allow Catholics to marry unbaptized partners. The different impediments are found in canons 1083-1094 of the Code of Canon Law. A person is impeded if he or she is: under a certain age; perpetually and antecedently unable to perform the marital act; bound to a prior marriage; a baptized Catholic marrying someone who is not baptized; ordained; bound by a public perpetual vow of chastity in a religious institute; kidnapped with marriage as the goal; the killer of either their own spouse or their intended partner’s spouse with marriage as the goal; are closely related by blood; very closely related by marriage; very closely related by a relationship that resembles marriage; very closely related by reason of adoption.
A marriage could be invalid because at least one of the parties exchanged defective consent. To form a marriage, a man and a woman must consent to a union that is fruitful, faithful, and permanent. Canonically speaking, their consent must not positively exclude anything essential to marriage, it must be formed by an adequately functional intellect and will, it must be given freely, and each of the consenting parties must be able to function as a spouse. Marital consent may be lacking for the reasons described in canons 1095-1105. The thorough discussion of how exactly a person might be unable to give the appropriate marital consent could fill (and has filled) many books, but a few simple examples of defective consent are: lacking the ability to reason, intending to be unfaithful, or consenting because one is forced or out of grave fear.
A marriage could be invalid because at least one of the parties needed to observe a certain form for marriage. This comes up almost exclusively in the context of Catholics who marry civilly, but in fact needed to marry according to the form of the Catholic Church. This form is described in canon 1108. Any Catholic party must exchange consent with the accompaniment of their bishop or pastor, or a priest or deacon whom the former has delegated, along with two witnesses. While form is often referred to as “marrying in the Church,” there is an unnecessary ambiguity which can lead to confusion. The wedding occurring in a church building is not relevant to form (though due to jurisdictional issues, getting married on a boat is almost always an issue). What is important is “getting married in the Church” (one, holy, catholic, apostolic), not so much “getting married in the church” (the chapel, parish building, basilica, or cathedral).
Marriages are only valid when neither party is impeded, both give the appropriate consent, and they observe the appropriate form.
Q: Who needs a convalidation?
A: The most common category would be Catholics who attempt to marry without marrying in the way the Church requires, referred to above as “form.” Whether because a person had a previous marriage for which they had not received a declaration of nullity, or did not care to marry in the Church (e.g. a civil marriage), a Catholic who marries outside of canonical form without a dispensation does not enter a valid marriage. If the circumstances above are resolved, they need a convalidation to become validly married.
Q: What is meant by “dispensation” of form?
A: A dispensation is a relaxation of a ecclesiastical law in a particular case. Since the requirement that Catholics marry according to form is ecclesiastical, it may be dispensed for a particular couple, at least one of whom is Catholic and so canonically bound to observe form, to exchange their consent without observing form.
Q: Who doesn’t need a convalidation?
A: Couples in a valid marriage. If neither party was impeded from contracting marriage, both had valid marital consent, and they observed the form to which they were obligated, no convalidation is needed. This would include those who had validly married before being baptized and were subsequently baptized Catholic, or those who married as baptized Protestants and one or both are later received into the Catholic Church. No new consent is required for their marriage to become a sacrament or be recognized by the Church, respectively.
As examples, if Charlie and Lucy, both unbaptized, contracted marriage and then were later baptized, their marriage, which was valid from the beginning, would be elevated to the dignity of a sacrament by the fact of their baptisms, since marriage between the baptized is always a sacrament. If Luther and Claire, both baptized Lutherans, contracted marriage and then were later received into the Catholic Church, their marriage had always been a sacrament, and nothing need be done except the marking of their marital status on their reception records.
Q: What are the canonical processes and liturgical celebrations involved?
A: Canonically and liturgically, very little is required. If one or both parties were impeded, the impediment would have to cease or be dispensed. Then, at least the party conscious of the impediment must renew consent (canon 1156). The form that this renewal of consent takes varies somewhat based on the nature of the impediment—details the parties’ pastor or the tribunal can assist with.
Q: What are common misunderstandings or missteps parties and pastors make in approaching convalidation?
A: As stated above, convalidation is not just a blessing of a marriage. In fact, canon 1157 states: “the renewal of consent must be a new act of will consenting to a marriage which the renewing party knows or thinks was invalid from the beginning.” It is a false comfort to tell a couple that the convalidation is simply a blessing of the marriage they already have, and if the parties believe this, the convalidation could be invalid.
Of greater comfort is the matter of children born before convalidation. The concept of legitimacy for children no longer has any canonical consequence, and the Church does not consider as illegitimate any children born to a presumably valid marriage which one or both parties celebrated in good faith.
Q: How does a couple pursue a convalidation if they have questions?
A: They should approach their pastor. He will be able to answer their questions or put them in contact with their tribunal.
If the couple requires a convalidation, their pastor should take them through marriage preparation. Since they will be making a new exchange of consent, they should be prepared. The focus should be on the teaching of the Church concerning fidelity, fruitfulness, and permanence. Also, their anniversary will be the date of their convalidation, because that is when the couple exchanged their valid marital consent according to the Catholic Church. If the convalidation was required because there had been a lack of form, the baptismal records of the Catholic party/parties will need to be annotated, and a marriage record will be made at the parish. If the convalidation was because of a different defect, a further annotation on their baptismal records should be made. The latter is so infrequent that I am not aware of a standardized practice for the marriage records. It would be prudent, however, for the parish where the convalidation occurred to have a record even if a previous marriage record exists at another parish, and if that were the case, to also notify that other parish.
