Meet the Catholic clergyman who just got married and wants to have children

Two months ago, Dennis Mifsud, a Catholic clergyman, married his long-time girlfriend and love of his life, Mayline. He may one day become a deacon – and even have children. 

In Malta, that makes him part of a rare group: clergy who can do all this without breaking any rules of the Catholic Church.

When you see Dennis and Mayline at mass on Sunday in Our Lady of Damascus church in Valletta, you will not find them side-by-side in the pews. Mayline sits with the congregation, while Dennis serves at the altar as a subdeacon in his distinct liturgical vestments.

But just before mass begins, it’s not unusual to catch a brief, affectionate kiss between them, a quiet gesture of their shared life and faith. 

“To us, it doesn’t feel strange at all. It’s ordinary life, and we love it,” Dennis told Times of Malta, offering a shy smile just weeks after their wedding.

“I felt a calling to this vocation. I was drawn to it as it gives you the possibility to serve God and your family at the same time. And I also love Byzantine liturgy, spirituality and iconography.”

Dennis was ordained a subdeacon in 2016 and married Mayline last May. When they first met, Mayline was unaware of his unique clerical path, but she soon discovered it and fully embraced it, regularly attending services with him.

“We met through Facebook, she discovered my photos during our celebrations, and it never bothered her. Soon enough, she started coming to mass as well,” he said.

For many, the idea of a married Catholic clergyman with a family might sound like something out of the ordinary, as the majority of Catholics worldwide belong to the Roman Catholic Church, where priests and deacons (who are training to be priests) must commit to celibacy – meaning they do not marry. In the Roman Rite, married men can only aspire to the permanent diaconate but not the priesthood.

To us it doesn’t feel strange at all. It’s ordinary life, and we love it

However, the Catholic Church is, in fact, a bigger, diverse family of rites, and Dennis belongs to a different, lesser-known branch – the Greek Catholic Church.

Both Churches share the same core beliefs and are united under Pope Leo XIV in Rome, but they have different traditions, customs, and ways of worshipping.

While Roman Catholics are most common in Western Europe, Africa and the Americas, Greek Catholics (also known as Byzantine Catholics) primarily hail from Eastern Europe, the Middle East and parts of Asia.

While they are in full communion with the pope, their worship style, church architecture, and some of their clergy practices differ significantly from Roman Catholics. For instance, in the Greek Catholic Church, married men can be ordained as deacons and priests. It is a long-standing tradition that allows clergy to have families.

Greek Catholic clergy also participate in Roman Catholic masses, and are easily identified by their unique liturgical vestments, which are often richly embroidered and distinct from Roman Catholic liturgical attire.

One of the main liturgical differences is that while Roman Catholics typically receive communion as a small wafer, Greek Catholics receive it as real bread dipped in the consecrated wine.

Born and raised a Roman Catholic

Although he was born into a Roman Catholic family in Gozo, Mifsud settled in Malta in 2004. Some years later he began to attend Our Lady of Damascus church and formally changed his rite to become Greek Catholic through a process involving the archbishop and the Vatican.

He attributes much of his guidance to former archbishop Paul Cremona, who supported him on his journey.

It is not every day that you see a clergyman serving mass wearing a wedding ring. Photo: Silvio Pace

He never attended a seminary in the traditional sense, but he studied theology at the University of Malta. And unlike Roman Catholic clergy, Dennis lives at home with his wife, and they wish to have children.

For Dennis, his life is a blend of the sacred and the secular; he works in the education sector for the government while dedicating his service to his Greek Catholic parish. He also holds a weekly radio programme about the Sunday Gospel and is involved in some canonisation causes abroad.

What is unique for Greek Catholics is that they can marry before, during or after the subdiaconate. The main rule is that they cannot marry after being ordained as a deacon or priest, nor if their spouse passes away after their ordination.

In the Greek Catholic Church, there is no rush for a married man to become a priest; in fact, stability in their marriage is often seen as a prerequisite. While a married man can become a priest and have children, he would not be able to become a bishop, however, as bishops in both Roman and Greek Catholic Churches are chosen from among the celibate clergy.

Small but significant community

The Greek Catholic community in Malta is small but significant. It has one parish in Valletta and another church, handed to it by Archbishop Charles Scicluna, in Vittoriosa – a town with a historical connection to the Greek community who arrived with the Knights of Malta centuries ago.

Unlike the rest of parishes in Malta, theirs is not tied to a specific territory but rather serves the Greek Catholic faithful across the islands.

Dennis, along with current parish priest Papas Martin Zammit and deacon Jesmond Schembri, are part of the first generation of Maltese Greek Catholic clergy. Before them, the clergy were primarily Italian, hailing from Piana degli Albanesi. With them, at 98, former Papas George Mifsud Montanaro is a respected elder in the community.

Dennis says his story is a testament to the rich tapestry of the Catholic Church, where different traditions and paths to holiness coexist, and where love, faith, and family can truly go together.

Dennis Mifsud with wife