A chancellor is appointed by the diocesan bishop to gather, arrange, and safeguard the curial archive. The chancellor also serves as an ecclesiastical notary and secretary of the curia. Most canonical administrative matters are overseen by the chancellor, with the assistance of a vice-chancellor.
The chancellor’s responsibilities include:
Please click on the tabs below for documents and applications.
To apply for the Pauline Privilege or a Lack of Form case, click on the “Applications for Matrimonial Processes” tab below.
For applications for marriage nullity on the basis of prior bond or for a formal case, please to the Tribunal page.
There are different canonical processes conducted by the chancellor or the Tribunal to determine the status of those whose marriage has ended in divorce. There are different applications for each of these canonical processes.
To determine which application to use, please click on the following link and answer a few questions to determine which application is the correct one for you.
Which application should I complete?
Applications
The application for a formal case can be found here.
Petición por Falta de la Forma Canónica
Petición por el Privilegio Paulino
Completing and Submitting an Application for Lack of Form or Pauline Privilege
Applications for lack of form or the Pauline Privilege can be printed and completed by hand. Please write legibly. You may also complete an application online, if you have the necessary software.
After completing an application for lack of form or the Pauline Privilege, take the printed application and any required documents to your parish or bring it to the Chancery.
Submitting the Application at Your Parish: If you bring your application and documents to your parish, a priest or deacon will witness your signature and sign the application. Then the priest/deacon will mail the application to the Office of the Chancellor.
Submitting the Application at the Chancery (Catholic Center): You also have the option of bringing the application and documents directly to the Chancery. If you choose to submit the application and documents at the Chancery, an ecclesiastical notary will witness your signature and sign the application. This will help to expedite your case.
Please keep a photocopy of anything you bring or send to the Office of the Chancellor, since mail and documents can be lost.
If you need help with the application process, contact us at chancellor@cc.cdom.org or call (901) 373-1200 and ask for the Chancellor’s Office.
Whenever a couple seeks to contract marriage in the Catholic Church, a priest or deacon will meet with the parties individually to conduct the prenuptial investigation. If a dispensation or permission is needed before a wedding is celebrated, the priest/deacon should complete page 8 and send the marriage file electronically or by mail to the Office of the Chancellor.
Prenuptial Investigation Form (9-26-22) (PDF) (MS Word)
Cuestionario Prematrimonial (Revisado 26-9-22)
If the priest/deacon preparing a couple for marriage does not have certainty that the parties are free to marry or that one of the parties has been baptized, witnesses may be asked to complete the following affidavit. At least two witnesses to the freedom of each party to marry are required for all marriages that will take place outside of the Diocese of Memphis.
Declaración Jurada del Testigo
If a couple prepares for marriage in the Diocese of Memphis and intends to celebrate the wedding in a different diocese, the priest or deacon who prepared the couple for marriage must send the completed Prenuptial Investigation form and the required documents to the chancellor. After ascertaining that everything is in order, everything will be forwarded to the chancellor of the diocese where the marriage will take place. If everything is in order, the chancellor of that diocese will grant a nihil obstat and send all of the documentation to the parish where the wedding will take place. Please complete the following form and send it to the Chancellor along with all required documents at least one month before the wedding.
A priest or deacon may petition the diocesan bishop for a “radical sanation” to validate a marriage that was attempted contrary to canon law. The priest or deacon completes the following petition electronically or by hand and mails it to the Office of the Chancellor. Completed and signed petitions can also be scanned and emailed to chancellor@cc.cdom.org.
Decree Changing the Name of the North Central Deanery
The Diocese of Memphis is governed in accordance with the 1983 Code of Canon Law promulgated by St. John Paul II and particular law promulgated by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Bishops of Memphis.
Ethical and Religious Directives
Financial Administration (Parishes)
Marriage Norms (2023): Minimum Age for Marriage & Blessing of an Engagement
Faculties
A pagella (Latin word meaning “little page”) is a list of faculties. The diocesan bishop (or his delegate) grants to every priest and deacon certain faculties, which are powers or authorizations to lawfully carry out certain acts of ministry. The bishop (or his delegate) sends a letter to each priest or deacon individually granting him the faculties that are listed on the pagella.
The Code of Canon Law recommends that books dealing with sacred scripture, theology, canon law, ecclesiastical history, and, especially, religious or moral disciplines should be submitted to the judgement of the local ordinary (c. 827 §3). The Office of the Chancellor accepts requests from local authors who wish to obtain an Imprimatur from a local ordinary.
When a manuscript is electronically submitted to the Office of the Chancellor with a request for an Imprimatur, the manuscript is forwarded to a censor approved by the local ordinary. Having received the opinion of the censor, the local ordinary will communicate with the author if there is anything in the text that would need to be changed to conform with Catholic doctrine regarding faith and morals. If the censor and the local ordinary judge that the text is free from all doctrinal error, they will grant the Nihil obstat and Imprimatur.
The Nihil obstat and Imprimatur are declarations that a particular text is free from doctrinal or moral error; however, the grant of the Nihil obstat and Imprimatur does not imply that the censor and the local ordinary agree with the contents, statements, or opinions expressed in the book.
Authors who would like to obtain an Imprimatur for their books or pamphlets may email the Chancellor with an electronic copy of the manuscript attached. If the local ordinary is competent to grant the Imprimatur, a check will be requested from the author to cover the censor’s fee and processing of the request. The fee for most texts is $200.
Requests can be sent to chancellor@cc.cdom.org.
Requesting Sacramental Records
If you wish to obtain a certificate of baptism, confirmation, or marriage, you must contact the parish where the ceremony took place. These records are not kept at the diocesan office, except for rare cases.
Records of baptism for St. Peter Orphanage can be obtained from the diocesan archive.
Sacramental Records Policy
All particular law and policies of the Diocese of Memphis are being reviewed and edited. This Sacramental Register Handbook can be used as a reference until a new policy is promulgated.
All of the parishes erected within the Diocese of Memphis in Tennessee are territorial. Though Catholics may register in any parish and attend any Catholic church, for purposes of Church law, a person is a member of his/her territorial parish.
