In the name of Birgitta ” “

“A jubilee with the cathedral as its focal point, with pilgrimages being organized from various parts of the country and also for national groups, in view of the fact that a large part of Catholics in Sweden are immigrants or the children of immigrants”: with these words Msgr. Anders Arborelius , bishop of Stockholm, introduces the programme and the contents of the celebrations marking the fiftieth anniversary of the foundation of the diocese (on 29 June 1953). A small but lively Church – “The most important task that the local Church has to perform – continues Bishop Arborelius – is to promote unity between the various national groups of Catholics, in view of the fact that, apart from those of European origin, the number of Catholics representing the various rites of the Eastern Churches have steadily grown in recent years, especially those from the Middle East. So far the most sizeable group consists of Chaldean Catholics from Iraq”. The Swedish Catholic community, mainly concentrated in the capital Stockholm and in the surrounding regions, represents in numerical terms only some 2% of the population (totaling almost 9 million, 86% of them Protestant). “Our community is growing from year to year in numerical terms – explains the bishop – but unfortunately we don’t have enough churches at our disposal for worship. We thus have to ask the Lutheran Churches for permission to use theirs. In general collaboration between us is very cordial and close. One of the largest Lutheran churches in the city, for example, is usually used by the community of Polish Catholics, which is one of the largest. Together with the Lutherans, we celebrated the 700th anniversary of the birth of St. Birgitta (Bridget) a few weeks ago. This was a great event that united the two Christian communities with both Lutheran and Catholic celebrations. The celebrations were attended by Cardinals Kasper and George (of Chicago), a large group of Brigettine Sisters from all over the world, over 5,000 Catholics and numerous Protestants. It was a great sign of the ecumenical collaboration that can be established between the Christian Churches”. Growing vocations – The culmination of the jubilee of the diocese of Stockholm will be on 12 October, when the king of Sweden Karl XVI Gustaf will also be present in the cathedral, together with the highest authorities of the State, and the Catholic and Lutheran ecclesiastical hierarchies. The Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Cormac Murphy–O’Connor, will also participate in the celebration as the Holy See’s legate. “All these events – continues Bishop Arborelius – have helped foster ecumenical dialogue and at the present time we have opened various bilateral dialogues: with the Swedish Lutheran Church, with the Pentecostals, with the Reformed Church and with the Orthodox Churches. The number of priests is not very high: there are some 160 in service, of which approximately half are members of the religious orders. In large part they come from the various nations, and provide pastoral care for their own national communities. But a growth of vocations also among the immigrants is being registered. Last year we ordained the first priest of the Swedish Maronite rite and also have a Swedish seminarian of Cuban origin who is preparing for the priesthood”. Bishop Arborelius also points out a phenomenon “worth noting”: that of Protestant pastors who convert to Catholicism: “Some of them, four to be precise, who are married, have – he explains – received the necessary papal dispensation. We have also had the conversion of women ‘pastors'”.