Malta Church Records

Church registers are the primary source of birth, marriage, and death information in Malta before the beginning of civil registration in 1863. They identify names of parents, prove other relationships, and are very useful for linking generations.

Roman Catholic
Record type: Christenings, marriages, and burials.

Time period: 1537 to present.

Contents: Baptisms – names of individuals, dates of birth and baptism, names of parents, names of godparents. Marriages – names of groom and bride, dates and places of marriage, ages of groom and bride, their residences and sometimes their birthplaces. Burials – names of the deceased, dates and places of death and burial, age at time of death, marital status, cause of death, name of spouse, and so forth. Status Animarum – this survey of the spiritual status of the parish population lists names of parish inhabitants, ages, and residence.

Location: Recent registers are kept at local parish churches. Older registers may be at the Cathedral Museum, Archbishop Square, Mdina on Gozo; at the Archbishop’s Curia, St. Calcedonius Square, Floriana, Malta; or at the National Library by Republic Square in Valletta, Malta.

Population coverage: Historically, 95% or more of the population was Catholic. Actual coverage would be less in the 1500s and 1600s.

Anglican
Record type: Christenings, marriages, and burials.

Time period: 1801 to present.

Contents: Baptisms – names of individuals, dates of birth and baptism, names of parents, names of godparents. Marriages – names of groom and bride, dates and places of marriage, ages of groom and bride, their residences and sometimes their birthplaces. Burials – names of the deceased, dates and places of death and burial, age at time of death, marital status, cause of death, name of spouse, and so forth.

Location: The originals are at the Anglican chaplancy of Sliema, Malta and the chaplancy of St. Paul’s Anglican Church, Valletta, Malta. Transcripts of many records are in the possession of the Society of Genealogists, 14 Charterhouse Buildings, Goswell Road, London, England. Some transcripts (1806-1814) are at the Guildhall Library, Aldermanbury, London; these may have been moved to the Public Record Office, Chancery Lane, London within the past few years.

Population coverage: In the 1800s and early 1900s about 5% of the population was Anglican.

Marriage Compilations
Research use: These compilations of marriage records should simplify research by making marriage information more easily accessible. Marriages are a key genealogical source as they provide a bridge between generations and often provide many details that make it possible to link one generation to another.

Record type: Compilations of marriage information taken from the original marriage sections of the church books.

Time period: About 1540 to probably about 1900.

Contents: Would provide names of brides and grooms, dates of marriage, and so forth. No specific information is known about these compilations.

Location: There are four sets of marriage compilations in private collections in Malta.

Population coverage: Probably 70% or more.

Websites

 * Diocese of Gozo
 * The Church in Malta - Archives of the Archbishop of Malta