Ecumenical generosity helps Catholics worship in Finland

Catholics make up 0.2 per cent of Finland’s population of 5.5 million, and the Church receives no state support, unlike other Christian denominations. The Diocese of Helsinki covers the whole country, some 340,000 square kilometres. There are only eight parishes and 29 Catholic priests in Finland.

“Every weekend we cover thousands of kilometres to bring the heavenly food to our faithful,” said Bishop Raimo Goyarrola of Helsinki.

“There are many families who ask to have tabernacles in the village but there is no church,” he said.

The Catholic Church in Finland consists of 120 different nationalities and celebrates in a variety of rites. To make up for the lack of Catholic churches, the Lutherans and the Orthodox lend their buildings to their brothers and sisters for worship.

“Each month we celebrate Mass in 20 Lutheran churches and five Orthodox churches,” said the grateful bishop, highlighting an example of concrete and lived ecumenism, while the diocese waits to receive the funds necessary to build more places of worship that it needs to welcome the growing number of believers.

The number of Catholics in Finland has been increasing regularly over the past two decades, with growing demand for baptisms, as much for adults as for young people or children. There are 500 new Catholics each year in Finland.

Half of the new Catholics in the country are Finnish; the other half are migrants or refugees. Those coming from places with a strong Catholic tradition, like the Philippines or Latin America, have in recent years been joined by Christians coming from war zones such as Sudan, Myanmar and Ukraine.

FULL STORY

Finland: Extraordinary ecumenism | ACN International (By Amélie Berthelin/ACN)