Catholic remarriage after annulment and marriage prep for a second marriage

Every diocese sets its own steps, so your priest or deacon has the final word. In most US parishes a remarriage after an annulment follows this pattern.

• A first meeting with the priest or deacon. Bring the tribunal decree. He will check that it is final and whether it carries a monitum or vetitum, a note that asks for extra preparation or counseling before the next wedding.
• Documents. Recently issued baptism certificates with notations, the decree of nullity, and a death certificate if a previous spouse has died.
• A relationship inventory. Many parishes use FOCCUS, which adds sections for couples where one partner was married before, or Prepare/Enrich.
• A remarriage workshop or course. Several dioceses run their own. The Diocese of Trenton asks couples remarrying after a death or annulment to attend its To Trust Again workshop, the Archdiocese of Atlanta runs Love Again, and the Diocese of Providence runs New Love + New Life. Others accept an approved online course.
• Natural Family Planning. Many dioceses ask for at least an introduction, even for couples past the usual childbearing years.

Ask the parish which programs it accepts before you pay for any course. Our certificate lists every module you completed, so the priest can see exactly what you covered.

Couples marrying a second time usually choose between a diocesan remarriage workshop, a general online marriage prep course and a program they work through at home. The prices of other providers are as listed by the Diocese of Orlando for its approved online courses and can change, so check before you register.

Most marriage prep is written for two people in their twenties planning a first home. You may be in your forties, you may have children from the first marriage, and one of you may carry years of a marriage that ended badly. Diocesan remarriage programs exist because the issues are heavier: what the divorce taught you, trust, money that is already committed to child support or a former home, and stepchildren who did not choose any of this.

The annulment process itself often helps. Writing the tribunal testimony forces a person to look honestly at what went wrong, and many say it was the hardest and most useful thing they did. Good preparation builds on that instead of starting from zero. The week on families of origin, past wounds and expectations in the Engaged program is where most second marriage couples spend the longest. If something serious comes up, and it often does, the private consultation with a Catholic therapist is the place to raise it before the wedding rather than after. For a marriage that later needs help, our page on Catholic marriage counseling explains what that looks like.

Couples marrying again often assume the Church's teaching on intimacy is for newlyweds and not for them. It is for every marriage. The Catechism calls the acts in which spouses unite noble and honorable, and says that they signify and foster the self giving by which husband and wife enrich each other with joy and gratitude. A second marriage deserves that as much as a first, and it is the heart of Catholic intimacy in marriage as we teach it.

Many couples used contraception in the past and want to know what changes now. If you are still of childbearing age, the Engaged program teaches the basics of natural family planning and how to choose a method, and an NFP instructor is one of the experts you can book for the consultation. If you are past it, the weeks on talking about sex in marriage still matter, because the habits of a first marriage tend to follow people into the second one. Questions you would not ask in a parish hall can go to the assistant, which answers from the Catechism with paragraph numbers.

The Couples Program has five guided 8 week programs. Couples preparing for a second marriage start with Engaged, Preparing for the Wedding Night, and many return to Rekindle in the first year of marriage. Each week has a short reading drawn from Church documents, a video lesson, an exercise to do together and conversation cards for the topics that are hard to raise on your own. When you finish, the certificate lists every module you completed.

The plan also includes everything in Membership: the full library, the monthly live Q&A with experts and Ask with Sources, 300 questions a month answered from the Catechism with paragraph numbers. Every three months you book a private 30 minute video consultation with a Catholic therapist, a Catholic sex therapist or an NFP instructor. Two logins, one plan, $49 a month or $24 a month billed yearly. There is no free plan. If your parish prepares several remarrying couples a year and wants a shared program, the self serve Parish plan covers that.

You do not need a date on the parish calendar to begin. Couples who work through the first weeks before their meeting usually arrive with clearer answers, and the conversation turns quickly to scheduling. If one of you is not Catholic, read our page on Pre Cana for a non Catholic partner. If you married civilly after the divorce and the annulment came later, your path is a convalidation rather than a new wedding. When you are ready, choose the Couples Program on the pricing page and open the first week together tonight.