This is a very sensitive issue in the Catholic faith. Many people have suffered tremendously in a marriage that should never have been, or perhaps were suddenly abandoned without warning.  Because of the pain involved, I post this page with the idea of offering hope to those who need to know more about annulments; Especially those who are torn between staying single after a divorce and fulfilling their desire for companionship.  Here are some good links to start with:

This link will take you to the reading room at oncecatholic.org.  It is a good site with a lot of information available.

At the bottom of that page is another excellent link to a more detailed article on annulments from St. Anthony messenger. A direct link to their article can be found here:

Please check out these links for an excellent start on the topic.

In the Diocese of Metuchen, annulments can be started with any priest who will then help you send them to the marriage tribunal.  There are two primary types of annulments:

Lack of  form: If a person who was Catholic at the time of their marriage, did not get married in the Catholic Church, nor with a dispensation from the Catholic Church, the marriage can be annulled quickly through a lack of canonical form.  What is needed is the documentation to show that the party was Catholic (usually a Baptism certificate), that the marriage took place outside the Church (marriage certificate), that it ended in divorce (copy of divorce decree), and testimony concerning the above and showing that the party had not formally left the Catholic Church at the time of the wedding.  (The last item is only important if the marriage took place after November 1983).  The Catholic Church also recognizes "lack of Orthodox form" for a couple where one or both parties were members of the Orthodox church and the wedding took place outside the Orthodox church and not in the Catholic Church.

Formal Annulment:  If the marriage cannot be dissolved by lack of form, then a formal annulment is required.  This is an involved process and the person seeking the annulment should contact their parish priest for the forms.  A member of Holy Spirit parish who needs financial help in paying the fees involved ($600 in Metuchen diocese as of 6/05) should ask at the rectory for help with that as well.  The forms for the Diocese of Metuchen can be found online at the Tribunal's part of the website at this link: