The pastoral as polysemic : perspectives of priests in Malta

Abstract

The Maltese Archipelago, home to a population of around half a million persons, is a confessional state that privileges the Roman Catholic religion, with a majority Catholic population of 98% baptised out of which about 84% subscribe to the Catholic faith, and around four hundred priests. The split between diocesan and religious priests is around 50%. By way of introducing the country, if one were to look at the last Church’s census, conducted in 2018, only 36% of the Maltese population attend Sunday mass, while around 70% attend at least once a month. Moreover, the census showed that only 6% and 8% of the group attending mass were within the 15–24 year-old bracket, and the 7–14 year-old bracket, respectively. The strongest cohort of mass attendees (58%) are aged at least 50 years, and the majority are females (53%).4 The census is but one sphere of inquiry among others when it comes to quantifying the life of a diocese. Nonetheless, it provides a snapshot of pastoral life as it was a couple of months prior to the advent of Covid-19.