Over 40 corpses have been given a so-called pauper’s burial in just over two years after no mourners came forward to organise their funeral.

Earlier this week, Times of Malta reported that the corpses of four men would have to be laid to rest by the health authorities after nobody claimed them. Their burial is expected to take place in the coming days.

While the phenomenon may have come as a shock to many people, with some even enquiring how they could offer flowers to be used during the burials, the bodies of the four men actually join a long list of those who met a lonely end on this earth.

Speaking to Times of Malta, Christopher Barbara, the head of Mater Dei Hospital’s pathology department, who is also tasked with overseeing the mortuary, said a number of bodies are given a pauper’s funeral every year.

So far this year, there have been five such cases, he said, while in 2018 a total of 21 bodies remained unclaimed.

In 2017, the figure stood at 16.

The department head described how the hospital had recently reviewed its standard operating procedures in order to ensure that bodies that are not claimed are still given a proper burial.

One dreads to think how many more people have nobody while they are still alive

According to Dr Barbara, a corpse is referred to as unclaimed if no relatives or friends show interest in claiming it for burial or have it transferred to a desired resting place within two months from death.

In the case of non-Maltese bodies, the foreign ministry of the person’s home country is contacted. If no reply is received, the mortuary then sends three registered letters to the home of the deceased and it is only after the third month has elapsed that names are published in The Government Gazette, as was the case with the four men in last week’s notice.

Burials are held within 10 days of this notice being published, he said.

How do the health authorities go about organising the burial once it has been determined that the body is unclaimed?

Dr Barbara said that a funeral director, paid for by the State, organises such a ceremony.

In cases where a person was a member of a particular parish church, the funeral is held there, however in most cases burials are carried out at the Santa Maria Addolorata Cemetery.

“In most cases, we have the hearse taking the body to the cemetery and another car with the priest. It’s a rather sad affair,” Dr Barbara pointed out.

Asked whether the hospital knew the background behind some of the unclaimed bodies, given the small size of the island, the department head said such information was not held by the authorities.

“It could be because a person has no family or maybe relatives were not on speaking terms, we don’t know,” Dr Barbara said.

“What is clear is that these people didn’t have anybody when they died.

“One dreads to think how many more people have nobody while they are still alive,” he added.