roman catholic ceremony

In Italy a Roman Catholic ceremony can only be performed in a church and it will be automatically registered with the Italian authorities, therefore a civil wedding is not required. Mixed religion background marriages can be performed as long as a Dispensation is obtained from your local Parish Priest and as long as you have all your religious paperwork approved by the religious authorities in Italy. Should one of the parties be divorced, the Catholic Church will not allow you to remarry in a church, unless the Rota previously invalidated the marriage. You must have an annulment recognized by the Catholic Authorities.

The following documents are required for a Catholic wedding:

1. Declaration from your Pastoral Advisor that both bride and the groom are active in the Catholic Church and that they seriously intend to have a religious blessing.
2. Certificate of Baptism
3. Certificate of First Communion
4. Certificate of Confirmation
 

All the above documents must be sent to the Bishop in the city of residence to obtain the ‘Religious Non Objection Declaration’.Once these have been returned to you, they must be forwarded, together with all the documents listed for the civil ceremony, to the local Bishop office in Italy in order to obtain the Italian ‘Religious Nulla Osta’.
 

Please note that a month is the absolute minimum required time by the priest and archbishop in Italy to review and approve the paperwork.