A tiny but devout Catholic community celebrates a rare ordination
The ordination of Finland’s ninth native Catholic priest since the Reformation took place last month in Lohja, a city about an hour’s drive east of Helsinki.
In the first row sat members of the Order of the Most Holy Saviour, commonly known as the Brigittine nuns, along with two Brigittine monks, who had come all the way from their monastery in Amity, Oregon. The monks were there because the newly ordained Fr Tuomas Nyyssölä had spent time at the monastery to fully discern his vocation.
They said they were pleasantly surprised by the level of devotion in Finland’s tiny Catholic community. (There are 15,000 registered Catholics out of a population of 5.5 million.) They particularly appreciated the faithful receiving Communion on their knees, wearing veils and praying the rosary.
The vitality of the Church in the overwhelmingly Lutheran country is the result of the tireless pastoral work by priests in the Diocese of Helsinki, which has eight parishes and covers the whole of Finland. Their efforts are overseen by Bishop Teemu Sippo, who presided at the ordination of Fr Nyyssölä. On September 22, he will ordain another candidate for the priesthood to the diaconate. Bishop Sippo – the first Finnish-born prelate since the 16th century – has also allowed the regular celebration of Extraordinary Form Masses.
The Church in Finland is attracting a growing number of converts, including among the cultural and intellectual elite. One is Pauli Annala, a professor emeritus of dogmatics and former Lutheran pastor who became a Catholic along with his wife, and Joona Korteniemi, who until recently ran one of one Finland’s most popular Christian blogs, which at its peak attracted more than 700,000 readers. Fr Nyyssölä himself is also a convert.
Finland’s most prominent lay Catholic is Timo Soini, the minister of foreign affairs. The day after the ordination, he was featured on the evening news. The prime minister, Juha Sipilä, had reprimanded him for taking part in an anti-abortion rally in Ottawa in May while on an official trip. Sipilä insisted that Soini’s views on abortion were strictly personal and in no way reflected those of the government, let alone the majority of Finnish people.
Shortly before he visited Canada, Soini had expressed sadness at the result of the abortion referendum in Ireland. Responding to critics, he noted that he had held his pro-life convictions for the past 30 years, all the while pursuing his career as a politician. “How odd it is that someone would have to defend the right to defend life,” he later wrote on his blog. “It shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone that I hold this position. And I’m not ashamed of it, nor will I ever be.”
The controversies haven’t stopped Soini from playing a prominent role on the world stage. In July, he helped to organise the historic summit between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin in Helsinki.
