We like our global perspective around these parts, so here’s a story on the Church in Finland, particularly its recent consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary

7 parishes. 17 priests!

For the Consecration, St. Mary’s church was fully packed (this was a normal working day in Finland). The faithful presented very well the general outlook of the Diocese: about 50 percent of the Catholics have Finnish or Finnish/Swedish origin and speak these local languages as their mother tongue (mostly Finnish). Then the other half comes from about 100 different countries and forms thus a very difficult group for pastoral work. Also, this particular Church enjoys from the fact that it grows because there are more baptisms than funerals, and because every year there are people converting to the Catholic Faith. Also this time, among the faithful, there were many families with children.

Even if there are about 17 priests in the Diocese, which absolutely speaking is much, their workload is big, because of the long distances between the 7 parishes in this country. Every week priests must travel hundreds of kilometres to reach parishioners living in a real diaspora. There are also about 40 religious sisters.

Financially, all Nordic Dioceses have historically depended much on the help of two German aid organisations: the Ansgar-Werk and the Bonifatius-Werk. Now that these sources are reducing, local funding becomes more and more necessary – and natural. A young Church – like the one in Finland – gets no direct support from the state unlike the two so called state churches, the Lutheran and the Orthodox. Therefore, all income depends purely on the faithful’s good will (and moral rectitude). This makes the life of the Catholic Church in Finland maybe poor in matter but certainly rich in spirit. And this richness seems to be even growing. Deo gratias