Since Matrimony is a sacrament given by Christ to his Church, the Church has the authority to determine if a marriage is valid or not based on a set of criteria: the spouses were free to marry, they freely exchanged their consent, they had the intention to marry for life, to be faithful to one another and be open to children; and their consent was given in the presence of two witnesses and before a properly authorized Church minister. Without these criteria being met, a marriage is not valid. So an annulment is when the Church has decided this marriage was never valid to begin with.
Up Next in Unit 22 | Holy Matrimony
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What are marriage vows and why are th...
Public exchange of vows is an essential part of the Sacrament of Matrimony. The Church calls the exchange of vows consent—that is, the act of will by which a man and a woman give themselves to each other, and accept the gift of the other. The marriage can’t happen without this declaration, or vow...
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What makes Catholic marriage a sacram...
Marriage is an image of God’s unconditional love and covenant with His Church. God created man and woman out of love and calls them to love. The Sacrament of matrimony reveals the mystery that men and women are made for each other. The Sacrament of Marriage gives sacramental grace. Jesus gives th...
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Commitments vs promises: what's the d...
There are many different types of promises, and they have varying degrees of importance legally or culturally. In the Old Testament, there was a big difference between a promise, a contract, and a very special type of promise, known as a covenant. A contract often involves the exchange of propert...
