Faith in the Far North

The Catholic Church of Scandinavia has an unusual face. Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland and Iceland are the five nations that represent the Bishops’ Conference of Nordic Countries. Seven bishops are delegates to the plenary of the Conference. Four of them are "migrant" bishops. These are: Msgr. Burcher in Rejkiavick, Swiss national, the bishop of Tromso, Grgic, from Bosnia-Herzegovina, the bishop emeritus of Oslo, Schwenzer, from Germany, while Msgr. Kozon from Copenhagen was born in Denmark to Polish parents. The bishops Arborelius of Stockholm, Sippo of Helsinki and Eidsvig of Oslo are natives, converted to Christianity in their youth. Officially, there are 270 thousand Catholics in the five Countries, amounting to 1% of the overall population. The Catholic community in fact is more numerous, as many migrants are Catholic, but they’re not officially registered citizens."You need a driver’s licence". "The situation of our Church is special", Sister Anna Anna Mirijam Kaschner, German nun of the order of the Most Precious Blood, who lives and serves in the parish of Copenhagen, Segretary General of the Bishops’ Conference, told Sarah Numico. "Here all priests must have a driver’s licence, as parishes extend across hundreds of kilometres. Sometimes we travel 10-15 thousands kilometres each month in order to visit all the congregations". The diocese of Copenhagen is one of the largest in the world in terms of geographic extension. It comprises also Greenland, "but luckily two priests live there permanently. Each month, during weekends, a priest from the Cathedral of Copenhagen travels to the Bornholm islands, that are part of Denmark. When it is not possible, the liturgy of the Sunday Word is led by the nuns who live on the islands, and who are responsible for the entire pastoral activity", said sister Anna Mirijam.The eighth sacrament. The diocese of Tromso, Norway, is 28 times larger than the diocese of Cologne, Germany, which has five parish communities and nine priests. "This means that people have to travel to attend religious services. A family wishing to participate to the catechesis in preparation for the Confirmation of their child may have to travel 6-7 hours by car to reach the nearest parish. The religious said: "For us in the north there is an eighth sacrament, which we call the "community coffee". After liturgy, the community spends an entire day together, so as to make up for the geographic distances". Moreover, it should be said that the parishes are accompanied by the significant presence of the spiritual communities, which have a fundamental value. "Without them our situation would be much worse". In these spiritual venues it is possible to celebrate the Eucharist, hold meetings, or hold catechetical gatherings, such as preparation courses with children for their first communion. A growing community. Despite the Catholics’ "diaspora" situation, this Church registers remarkable growth. In Oslo the number of Christians has increased threefold over the past three years, owing to migration flows. But there have also been increases in the number of converts and of those who asked to be baptized as adults. "In the diocese of Oslo 13 Sunday masses are attended by so many people that often many of them have to follow the service outside the church", said sister Anna Mirijam. "I devote half of my time to my work for the Bishops’ Conference and the rest to my diocese, in Copenhagen, for the catechesis of converts. They told me that they found a support in moral issues inside the Church. For example, some of them