Over 1,500 Church marriages last year

A total of 1,551 marriages were registered in the Archdiocese of Malta last year, the Archbishop's Curia said yesterday.

Marriages between Maltese partners amounted to 1,385, between Maltese and foreigners 101, between foreign persons 59, and six marriages took place between Maltese living in another country.

A breakdown of the 101 marriages between Maltese and foreign partners shows that 53 marriages were between Maltese and foreign Catholics, 32 between Maltese Catholics and foreign Christians who are not Catholics and 16 between Maltese and non-Christian foreigners.

The 101 foreigners who married Maltese citizens in 2004 consisted of 70 males and 31 females from 39 countries, namely: UK - 19; Italy - 16; Russia - six; France - five; Holland and US - four each; Germany, Libya and Nigeria - three each; Australia, Bulgaria, Finland, Ireland, Poland, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Ukraine - two each; South Africa, Albania, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia, Japan, India, Canada, Kenya, Columbia, Korea, Macedonia, Malaysia, Norway, Portugal, Syria, Scotland, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey and Wales - one each.

The month with most marriages taking place was June, with 237, followed by May with 206 and July with 193. There were only 27 marriages in January.