The upper house of Spain's parliament voted against a government proposal to legalise gay marriage last night, but the legislation remains likely to be made law.
The Senate defeated the bill when legislators from a Catalan Christian Democrat party joined the centre-right opposition Popular Party in opposing it.
The bill will return to the lower house of parliament next week, where it is expected to comfortably win final approval.
Hundreds of thousands of Spaniards, including bishops and nuns, took to the streets of Madrid on Saturday in a protest against the legislation, which would give gay couples the same legal rights as heterosexual ones.
Catholic bishops have strongly condemned the proposal as a threat to family values and the fabric of Spanish society.