ROME — From Feb. 1 to 3, an estimated 1,100 Nordic pilgrims visited Rome’s holy sites and shared moments of prayer and reflection in a historic joint pilgrimage for the 2025 Jubilee. 

While each country had its own national and diocesan events, the whole group also came together to celebrate Mass in the papal basilicas and walk as one body through the Holy Doors.

For Maksym Marek from Norway, this pilgrimage was among the first in his life — an experience he struggled to put into words: “It’s something that I will carry with me in my heart, spiritually, and hopefully one day be able to tell my grandchildren about,” he told the Register, moved by the sight of so many fellow Nordic pilgrims gathered in prayer.

Rolf Skåra, from Norway, shared a similar sentiment. Reflecting on the deep historical significance of the sites they visited, he explained: “It’s amazing to be here and know that this is where the first Christians fought for their faith,” adding that visiting the tomb of St. Paul was especially powerful. “To feel inspired to also fight for your faith — that has meant a lot to me.” 

For many Nordic pilgrims, especially those from small and remote parishes, this gathering has been a deeply meaningful experience — one that has strengthened their sense of connection and renewed their sense of belonging. 

Bishop David Tencer traveled to Rome with about 80 pilgrims from Iceland, a Nordic island country just a few degrees south of the Arctic Circle. “We are here to show our loyalty to the Holy Father,” he told the Register, “and to do something together with the whole Church, since our church community is very little.”

“We are very isolated in Iceland,” Sister Pentecostés, a pilgrim from Iceland, added. “We are few Catholics, and to meet other Catholics in the Nordic countries, it gives us hope.”

Sister Anna Mirijam Kaschner from Denmark, who is also the Nordic bishops’ conference general secretary, echoed this feeling, emphasizing the deep faith of Nordic Catholics. “The Catholics [in the Nordic countries], they are really faithful. They are engaged in their faith, they are coming to Church, and I am really happy that they can experience that they are not alone.”

Despite “sore legs and sore toes,” Peter Kuran from Norway shared that “it’s a been wonderful to be a part of this pilgrimage, to deepen our faith, to understand more about what our faith actually means — that God became man for our sake — and not least to remember our call and task to keep walking when we return home.”

 

Deep Roots

While the Northern European nations have deep Catholic roots, Catholicism remains a small minority in each country today, with migrants making up most of the Church’s membership across Scandinavia. 

“We are between 1% to 3% of the population, so very much a migrant Church,” newly elected Bishop Fredrik Hansen, coadjutor of Oslo, told the Register. “We speak of ourselves as being the universal Church in the small, in the little, because every parish has many nationalities, many cultures, many languages.” 

Despite a high level of secularization and a growing irreligiosity, the Catholic Church in the Nordic countries continues to expand, experiencing an annual 2% growth due to immigration, conversions and flourishing communities.

“I think, on the whole, in our countries, the situation is marked by growth, by a certain vitality, by a certain youthfulness,” Bishop Erik Varden of Trondheim, told the Register, “and those are immense graces that we must try to orient and negotiate responsibly so that they can bear fruit.”

In order to “manifest the oneness of their local Church,” explained Bishop Varden, president of the Nordic Bishops’ Conference, these five small national Catholic communities united in a historic joint pilgrimage to Rome on the occasion of the 2025 Jubilee.

This bishops’ conference is unique in the Church for its multinational structure, as it brings together the five Nordic nations — Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland and Iceland — under one pastoral mission. In this light, this pilgrimage is a testament to that unity.

“I think there’s a great sense in the Nordic churches that we need to stand together,” Bishop Hansen added. “We need to help one another. We are very much the same: We face similar challenges, and we have a similar reality; therefore, this desire to be together.”

Spread the Light of Christ in the Dark

Amid the many challenges posed by growing secularization and irreligiosity, the Church in the Nordic countries remains a beacon of the hope that defines the Holy Year.

As such — the Nordic bishops emphasized in their various homilies throughout the weekend — Nordic Catholics are called to share that hope and the truth of Christ with all those searching for meaning and struggling with hopelessness among them.

In his homily on the feast of the Presentation, Cardinal Anders Arborelius of Stockholm spoke about the tradition of lighting candles and lights on feasts, but also when tragedy and death strikes, explaining that “there is a longing for light when everything is dark — both within us and in the world around us.” Notably, he added, this is seen in the Nordic countries, where so many “are longing for hope in the midst of hopelessness, for meaning in a world of lies and half-truths.”

Recalling that the Church celebrates the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, which gave us the Creed, this year, the cardinal stressed: “This should inspire us to evangelize so that this vague longing for light becomes a true encounter with the True Light — the One who came into the world for its salvation.”

“[God] wants his light to shine upon the whole world. He wants to ignite a light of hope for those trapped in the darkness of sin and the cold grip of despair. He wants to send his Spirit — the burning fire of living love — in our hearts, and break the hardened chains of selfishness. He wants to rekindle the flame of faith within us so that we dare to confront the vast networks of lies that enslave people under false gods and ideologies.” 

“Once and for all, Light has conquered when Jesus rose from the darkness of death. The power of sin and death has been broken. But this truth must be heard — yes, proclaimed — so that it can transform those who wander in fruitless searching and longing without ever reaching their goal,” he added.

“So we pray,” Cardinal Arborelius concluded, “Help us, Jesus Christ, you who are Light from Light, to spread your light in the darkness and cold of the North.”

The Task of Evangelization

The Nordic pilgrimage culminated in a solemn Mass at the altar of the Chair in St. Peter’s Basilica, celebrated on the feast of St. Ansgar, “the Apostle of the North.” 

In his homily, Cardinal Arborelius reflected on how he “brought the light and warmth of the Risen Lord to our cold and dark part of the world,” emphasizing that “we too, all of us, take part in this effort, to spread the Gospel to our people.”

This also echoed the words of the Holy Father, who earlier that morning had urged the pilgrims: “As you return home, then, please remember that a pilgrimage does not end but shifts its focus to the daily ‘pilgrimage of discipleship’ and the call to persevere in the task of evangelization.”

Evangelization is undeniably central to the mission of the Church in the Nordic countries, where Catholics are keenly aware of the stark challenges they face. 

“It’s a bright, sunny day now in Rome, but in winter in Finland, it’s very dark and cold,” Finnish Bishop Raimo Goyarrola, who traveled with a group of 75, observed. “Hope is this warmth, this love of God, and I hope that we Finns will return to our beloved Finland, to bring this love and hope from the heart of the Church to Finland, and through Finland, to many other countries.” 

“Especially now when we live in difficult times, we must remember that we carry this hope of our salvation, the salvation of the world,” Father Joseph Rizk from Sweden stressed, “to remember that God saved this world, and that we are called to continue and be a part of this work of salvation, to cooperate with God’s grace, and spread this hope even if things seem impossible, because nothing is impossible for Christ.”

Reflecting on the importance of hope, Bishop Hansen stressed that “we need to continuously remind ourselves that in spite of all challenges, in spite of the darkness, Christ shines and he shines a light for us. That is hope in our lives and for every single day.”