More than 1,500 Church marriages registered in Malta last year

The number of Church marriages registered in the Malta last year was 1,562. This marks a marginal increase over 2011 when 1,520 Church marriages were registered A total 1,351 of last year’s Church marriages were between Maltese citizens. There were 74 marriages between Maltese and foreigners - 40 between Maltese Catholics and foreign Catholics, 21 between Maltese Catholics and foreign Christians, 13 between Maltese Catholics and non-Christians.  Seven marriages were between Maltese citizens living in a foreign country, and 130 marriages were between foreign couples. The Church said in a statement this morning that 74 people - 41 men and 33 women from 31 countries were married to Maltese citizens in Church- 16 from Italy, nine from the UK and five from Russia. The most popular months for marriages were May, June and July. Most couples were aged between 20 and 29. In 2012, 56 marriages were convalidated.  A convalidated marriage when a couple who would have earlier married civilly gets married in Church. During the same period, there were 14 widows/widowers who re-married and 41 people who re-married following a declaration of nullity of their previous marriage.