Catholic Priest willing to do WDW weddings

[LuluLovesDisney]

I killed this thread 3 months ago, but I was wondering if anyone got in contact with this priest and how it went.

Thanks!!!

 

[tink774]

Several months ago this problem arose for me, and I went searching the internet via google trying to find an answer. DBF and I are both Catholic, and it is very important to me that we get to have our DFTW and that it be recognized by the church. FMIL loves Catholic wedding ceremonies, and really wants us to have one. So much in fact, that when I told her that DFTWs are commonly not recognized by the Catholic Diocese of Orlando, she tried to talk me out of having one.

So I went scouring the internet trying to find out if the Diocese will recognize Catholic weddings on WDW property. I found a page (I am desperately trying to find it again, but all that comes up now is news on WDW gay marriages, so I'll keep looking) written by a Disney bride who ran into the same problem. She was told that a WDW wedding would not be recognized by the church, even if it was performed by a priest. She spoke directly the the Bishop in Orlando, and he told her it was out of the question. And if she did manage to secure a priest for her ceremony at WDW, that priest would be out of good standing with the church, so her marriage would not be recognized anyway. According to her site, the Bishop believes that Disney "makes light" of the sanctity of marriage and does not give a blessing to any weddings performed there.

Recently I found this archive from the DISboards on the subject:
http://www.disboards.com/archive/index.php/t-160559.html

From what I understand, it still upholds that Disney weddings do not receive the blessing of the church. That archive and the page I mentioned before both listed some options you have. You could hold a small Catholic ceremony before or on the same day as your DFTW, but as I understand most people would not like this option. Another choice is to go ahead with the DFTW, and have your marriage blessed by a priest later (this is what the bride who wrote the page ultimately did). As I said before, you can arrange for a priest to perform your ceremony, but there is no guarantee that your marriage will be blessed, and the priest may get into trouble with the church.

Personally, I have chosen to have a DFTW and then a Catholic ceremony either before or afterwards in my hometown. I haven't decided which would be better to hold first, but I still have awhile to weigh it out. Sorry if this post makes anyone upset, but I am just repeating what I've read in the past. I don't like the Bishop's decision either. I don't see Disney as making light of marriage; they are providing couples the opportunity to have a wedding of their dreams.

 

[Tiggerific04]

I had contacted Father Wade Fahnestock of the Blue Kirk Mission in Lakeland. Here is what he told me:

The Sacrament of Holy Matrimony by an Old Catholic Priest is recognized valid by Rome.
The Wedding Mass which includes Holy Eucharist is for baptized Christians - so I will need a copy of your baptismal certificates.
I do not 'charge' for sacraments. I request that an offering be made to our mission fund for $250.
I asked that my mileage expenses from Lakeland be covered at standard rates.​

I also remember him saying that he needed to meet with us a month before the wedding, but I can't find the email that confirms that.

http://www.bluekirk.org/

 

[Kashmir104]

This is what I found online dealing with whether or not the Roman Catholic Church will accept sacraments performed by Old Catholics-

From:
http://www.oldcatholic.org/roman_church_views.htm

"At the Vatican on 16 June 2000, Pope John Paul II ratified and ordered the publication of Dominus Iesus. This Declaration of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith was signed and published by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict XVI) in August of the same year.

In this Declaration, the Roman Catholic Church recognizes the validity of Orders and Sacraments of Old Catholic denominations:

"The Churches which, while not existing in perfect communion with the [Roman] Catholic Church, remain united to her by means of the closest bonds, that is, by apostolic succession and a valid Eucharist, are true particular Churches."

"Therefore, these separated Churches and communities as such ... have by no means been deprived of significance and importance in the mystery of salvation. For the Spirit of Christ has not refrained from using them as means of salvation which derive their efficacy from the very fullness of grace and truth entrusted to the Catholic Church." IV. Unicity and Unity of the Church, 17"

Catholic Almanac - 1974

"The Roman Church recognizes the validity of Old Catholic Orders and other Sacraments." (Felician A. Roy, OFM, p. 368)

The Pastoral Companion – A Canon Law Handbook for Catholic Ministry – Third Edition by John M. Huels,J.C.D. page 335

“The principal condition is that these sacraments can be received only from validly ordained ministers. These are ministers who belong to “churches that have preserved the substance of the Eucharistic teaching, the sacraments of orders, and apostolic succession” This would include all Eastern non - Catholic churches, the Polish National Church, Old Catholic, and Old Roman Catholic.


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DF and I are going to investigate this further. We'd really like to have a catholic mass, so perhaps this is our answer!!

 

[tink774]

I hope everything works out for y'all!

Is it possible to have a Catholic wedding ceremony without the full Mass? It's just that a lot of our guests will not be Catholic, and I haven't decided yet if I want the wedding incorporated into the Mass or not. But I guess that's why I'm going to have a smaller Catholic ceremony.

I'll look into the situation with the Old Catholic priests, and see what happens. Good luck!

 

[LuluLovesDisney]

I hope everything works out for y'all!

Is it possible to have a Catholic wedding ceremony without the full Mass? It's just that a lot of our guests will not be Catholic, and I haven't decided yet if I want the wedding incorporated into the Mass or not. But I guess that's why I'm going to have a smaller Catholic ceremony.

I'll look into the situation with the Old Catholic priests, and see what happens. Good luck!

I've been to Catholic weddings without a full Mass but I don't know about the Old Catholics or that church in FL in particular. I am very confused about the religious side of my wedding, - LOTS of issues in my family w/ this - so I feel like a Catholic ceremony without a full Mass might be the most comfortable method for everyone.

 

[ZPT1022]

I'm pretty sure that would be recognized by the Church because he is a priest, but I believe married priests are not affiliated with a particular parish, but once you become a priest, you are always one and allowed to give the sacraments if someone asks. Was he from Rent a Priest? http://www.rentapriest.com/web/?_p=1001

I wouldn't mind one way or the other, but I did suggest this to DF awhile ago and he wasn't having ANY part of it! He's still disappointed that we're being married by a minister, but he's doing it because he knows how much I want to get married at Disney. I agreed to do the blessing at home in the Church sometime afterward.

Just as an FYI- DH and I took a class at our church last year and found out that there are in fact married priests. Not particularly common but there are some. This is the example the Sister teaching our class gave. Say my DH is a Lutheran pastor. He does some soul searching and realizes that Catholicism is a closer fit for his belief systems. They would allow him to become a priest. However, they're not about to tell him to ditch his wife and kids just to become a Catholic priest so voila! A married Catholic priest. It's certainly not the norm but it can and does happen.

 

[Tiggerific04]

Just as an FYI- DH and I took a class at our church last year and found out that there are in fact married priests. Not particularly common but there are some. This is the example the Sister teaching our class gave. Say my DH is a Lutheran pastor. He does some soul searching and realizes that Catholicism is a closer fit for his belief systems. They would allow him to become a priest. However, they're not about to tell him to ditch his wife and kids just to become a Catholic priest so voila! A married Catholic priest. It's certainly not the norm but it can and does happen.

Very interesting! Thanks for the info

 

[ZPT1022]

Very interesting! Thanks for the info

Yep, I am good for the useless trivia

Really, I just thought that was odd. The Sister who taught our class was awesome. When we got there and it was this sweet little old lady we were worried but she was so progressive and with it. We were impressed! We actually got to talk to her about some of the hot button church issues and were very pleased with her responses.

 

[psulawyer]

Hi! I just came across this thread. I can't seem to get the PM system to work without an error message popping up. Could you please forward to me the contact information of the Catholic Priest you were discussing... the one that would perform a wedding in Disneyworld? THANKS!!