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Marriage Tribunal
Q. What is an updated baptismal certificate and what is its significance pertaining to a marriage case?
A. Whenever a person is baptized in the Catholic Church, all information (child/adult's name, name of parents, date of baptism and place of baptism) is notated in the baptismal register at that Catholic Church. Through the years, when there is a First Communion, confirmation, wedding, solemn vows, diaconate, ordination to priesthood, these details are notated in the Catholic Church where the ceremony took place and, also, the information is sent to the individual's church of baptism for recording.
When a divorced Catholic contacts a diocesan marriage tribunal requesting a formal or informal decree of nullity (formerly referred to as an annulment or marriage case) one of the first things requested, along with the application paperwork, is an updated baptismal certificate. This certificate is obtained from the applicant's church of baptism indicating not only the actual baptismal information but all additional information as stated above is noted on the certificate as well. This updated certificate is used to prove that a wedding did (or did not) take place in a Catholic Church, the name of the spouse and the date of the wedding.
Finally, when a formal decree of nullity is declared, the case file is kept in the diocesan marriage tribunal archives. The case name, case number and date of the decree of nullity is sent to the church of baptism of any Catholic involved and is entered into the baptismal register for future reference. The information will be indicated on any new updated baptismal certificate.