Topic:  Can a Catholic get married on Sunday?

Source of this posting: Moderator response

Date originally posted: July 11, 2005

Moderator who originally posted this source: Kathy Martyn

Question: I'm sorry if this seems to be a long-winded and confusing question. My best friend is planning to get married in a couple of months. She and her fiancee would like it very much to have a Catholic ceremony in our church. The problem is her mother wants the ceremony to be performed on Sunday, which is the usual day for a wedding ceremony where we came from (Indonesia). After consulting our pastor, they have been told that performing a wedding ceremony on Sunday is considered against the church law, here in the US. Although her mom is a Catholic herself, she would still like to respect her Chinese heritage and custom by not having a wedding on Saturday (which is considered as a bad day for any events, let alone one as important as a wedding).My friend is an only child and she really wants to respect her mom's wishes. However, we certainly would not want her marriage not to be validated by the church. It would certainly be very helpful if you can give us any advice regarding this situation. We also would like to know if there's any way to obtain a dispensation to be able to hold the wedding ceremony on Sunday.I'm trying everything I can to help her obtain more information. Thank you very much for taking the time to read and answer this question.

Answer: 

You are a good person to be helping your friend.

Catholic weddings can take place in Catholic churches on Sunday. No dispensation is needed. But, I do know that many Priests do not relish the idea of performing a wedding on a Sunday afternoon becuase they are tired after presiding at the Saturday and Sunday liturgies.

Perhaps, you could find a retired Priest in the area who does not have responsibility for the other weekend liturgies. You did not mention if your friend's fiance is Catholic or not. If he is not Catholic, you could enlist the assistance of a Deacon for a Liturgy of the Word ceremony.

Hope this helps!