Marrying into the Catholic Faith

[KitCarson]

I have a couple of Lancashire CofE women marrying Catholic men from Ireland (circa 1880-1900)  Would the women have undertaken any specific instruction to allow them to marry in a Catholic Church and would the men need to get permission from their Parish Church in Ireland?

Kit

[Jeuel]

I'm not a Catholic though I am sure someone who is will be able to give a better answer. 

All I can say is that when my Catholic friend married in 1980 her husband (who is and remains C of E) went to talks with the priest who married them and agreed that any children of the marriage would be brought up as Catholics.

You don't need permission from your home parish to marry in C of E churches so I don't imagine you do in Catholic ones.  It's a matter for the priest who marries you I would think.

[SophiesChoice]

You had to undertake instructions if you were going to change your religion to RC. you would also have to promise that all children would be brought up in the RC faith.

If they didn't wish to change religion they would be married either in the vestry  or a side altar and not in the main part of the church or main altar, and still have to promise to bring any children from the marriage up as RC

They would have to have documentary evidence to marry outside of their parish because of the risk that they had been married previously.


Sophie

[KitCarson]

Thanks Jeuel and Sophie.  In both instances, the children were brought up as Catholics and went on to have Catholic marriages themselves.

My thought about the men needing permission or having to be in touch with their old Parish was a way for me to try and find my ancestors in Belfast and Westmeath.  If there are records held centrally by the Catholic Church, that would be a way for me to trace them back to Ireland, although that sounds far too easy 

Kit

[Harlem]

Hi Kit - just looking at your list of interests - I have a number of ancestors who lived in St. Helens (none of the same names as you, though) who converted to Catholicism in the 1870s, 80s and 90s. They had moved into the town and seem to have landed coincidentally in a Catholic area. Being surrounded by Irish immigrants, they began to marry them and convert. I also wonder if Sacred Heart Church (which is near where many of them lived) had an evangelical mission at the times, or perhaps did a lot of social work that encouraged folk to convert. They were all extrememly poor. I don't know what sort of training they had to convert, though.

Oddly, some had immigrated from Belfast, but were Protestants there.

Harlemswife

[KitCarson]

My St Helens families were Protestant ladies and married the incoming Catholic males.  Its funny how centuries of faith can be changed, just like that.  One of the chidlren from each of these lines then married one another and so the change was complete!  My Gran was one of those children but I didn't have this knowledge before she died in the 80s or else we could have discussed it.

Kit

[Harlem]

Hi again Kit

Actually I have found a Rimmer! I have a Mary Houlton who married a Rimmer. She was known as Polly. Her parents were John Houlton and Ann Ellen Hodgson - Ann Ellen born 1864. I am connected to the Hodgsons. Ann Ellen's father, William James was baptised St H Parish Church 1831 a month after he was born, and again at Sacred Heart Jun 1904 before dying a month later. If this sounds relevant we could talk more

Harlemswife

[KitCarson]

Thanks for your interest.  St Helens, and especially the Southport area, is absolutely full of Rimmers.  I can't see any connection to yours at the moment.  We can PM if we want to follow up.

Kit

[SophiesChoice]

Sacred Heart Church now demolished was built for the people who lived in the Greenbank area where a large proportion of the population was of Irish descent.    Holy Cross Church also catered for the Irish residents in the Fingerpost and Parr area.

St Helens is  50/50 RC & CE.   


Sophie