‘A Catholic spring in Iceland’
March 10, 2014
The number of Catholics in Iceland has doubled in the past decade and stands at 11,000, according to a report in L’Osservatore Romano.
The faithful are served by eight priests and 40 religious.
“Most of the religious are young, and they are also very active in the catechesis and youth ministry and help to give the Catholic Church in Iceland a new impetus,” said Bishop Peter Bürcher of Reykjavík.
The bishop said that the diocese is purchasing and building churches and wants to have “a male monastery, if possible with the Benedictines or Augustinians who in the Middle Ages possessed several monasteries in Iceland.” Land and a church have been purchased, but “now we have to find a monastic community.”
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Posted by: john1948 -
Mar. 11, 2014 3:51 PM ET USA
I was in Iceland when Pope John Paul II visited there on a pastoral visit to Catholics in the Scandinavian countries. I learned that Iceland was the last Scandinavian country to become protestant when the Danish king at that time forced Lutheranism on the population. Iceland once belonged to Denmark. The Lutheran pastors are paid by the state and cannot convert without jeopardizing the welfare of their families.
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Posted by: -
Mar. 10, 2014 11:07 PM ET USA
I checked out Iceland for a vacation destination and was shocked to find that the Catholic pop. is growing. Turns out that Iceland needed more workers many years ago and Polish people came to find jobs. Polish Catholics, that is. Mystery solved. Iceland used to be Catholic, of course, but they are now so liberal that Catholics have found a safe haven there.
