After hosting the 12th KEK assembly in recent weeks, the Norwegian city of Trondheim is preparing to celebrate the 850th anniversary of the foundation of the Catholic archbishopric of Nidaros (the medieval name of the diocese, established in 1153). “The history of the Catholic presence in this area of Norway is complex explains Msgr. Georg Muller, bishop-prelate of Trondheim given that the life of the diocese was rather turbulent during its early centuries. On the outbreak of the Reformation, the archbishop had to seek refuge in Holland and the Catholic presence ceased almost entirely. In the following period, the diocesan see was assumed by the Lutheran Church; this situation still continues. From the viewpoint of ecclesiastical history, the Lutheran community now regards itself as the continuation of the medieval Church which, although it was Catholic in origin, is defined as ‘church of the people’ in the medieval period, and Lutheran in the sense of Christian people of Lutheran confession today. It is significant, however, that it has been possible, over the last fifty years, to re-establish a Catholic presence in the country, including a Catholic hierarchy. A Catholic bishops was in fact ordained in 1953, for the first time since the Reformation, and now my presence is that of bishop-prelate, in a very small community in quantitative terms, but open to dialogue with the Lutherans”. The 850th anniversary of the foundation of the diocese will be commemorated with moments of prayer and liturgies, both Catholic and Lutheran. Cardinal Walter Kasper will officiate the celebration on 27 July, which will have an ecumenical dimension with the presence of civil and political authorities.
