There were 1,520 marriages at the altar last year, the Curia said in a break-down of statistics today.
It said 1,315 marriages were between Maltese while 66 involved foreigners. 31 of the foreigners were Catholic, 23 were non-Catholic, while in 12 of the marriages, one of the partners was not Christian. The Curia also registered 16 marriages between Maltese living abroad and 123 marriages by foreign couples.
The foreign spouses were 12 Italians, nine Russians, seven Britons and five Filipinos.
June was the most popular month for marriages (301) followed by July (242) and May (210). Most of the couples were between 20 and 29 years old.
During last year, 55 civil marriages were convalidated by the Church.
16 widows or widowers remarried, as did 48 persons whose first marriage was annulled.
The statistics do not include the diocese of Gozo.
Archbishop Paul Cremona yesterday celebrated Mass for newly weds and stressed that a Church marriage was for life. The vocation to marry meant commitment, he said. Mgr Cremona urged the couples to go together to Mass on Sundays and to participate in Church family groups...
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