Luxembourg in an international sea of red hats

A joyful photograph reflecting the historical changes at the top of the Archdiocese of Luxembourg. Last week, Bishop Leo Wagener (left), became the archdiocese’s first auxiliary bishop, and yesterday Archbishop Jean-Claude Hollerich (right) was created the first cardinal in the country’s history.

Cardinal Hollerich, who also leads the Commision of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Community (COMECE), consecrated Bishop Wagener on 29th September. The latter’s appointment is undoubtedly related to Cardinal Hollerich’s European duties, while the red hat is at least in part a sign of support for the Catholic community in the small grand duchy. The developments of the last week were certainly momentous.

As of yesterday, each country in the Benelux has its own resident cardinal: Willem Eijk of Utrecht, Jozef De Kesel of Mechelen-Brussels and now Jean-Claude Hollerich of Luxembourg. The latter two were created by Pope Francis, while Cardinal Eijk’s red hat was given to him by Pope Benedict XVI.

Cardinal Hollerich was one of 13 cardinals created yesterday. The College of Cardinals now has 225 members, of which 128 are under the age of 80 and will thus have duties in Rome and can take part in a conclave for the election of a new pope. The newest cardinals, with their title churches, are:

1. Miguel Ángel Ayuso Guixot, Cardinal-Deacon of San Girolamo dela Carità
2. José Tolentino Calaça de Mendonça, Cardinal-Deacon of Santi Domenico e Sisto
3. Ignatius Suharyo Hardjoatmodjo, Cardinal-Priest of Spirito Santo alla Ferratella
4. Juan de la Caridad García Rodríguez, Cardinal-Priest of Santi Aquila e Priscilla
5. Fridolin Ambongo Besungu, Cardinal-Priest of San Gabriele Arcangelo all’Acqua Traversa
6. Jean-Claude Hollerich, Cardinal-Priest of San Giovanni Crisostomo a Monte Sacro Alto
7. Álvaro Leonel Ramazzini Imeri, Cardinal-Priest of San Giovanni Evangelista a Spinaceto
8. Matteo Maria Zuppi, Cardinal-Priest of Sant’Egidio
9. Cristóbal López Romero, Cardinal-Priest of San Leone I
10. Michael Czerny, Cardinal-Deacon of San Michele Arcangelo
11. Michael Louis Fitzgerald, Cardinal-Deacon of Santa Maria In Portico
12. Sigitas Tamkevicius, Cardinal-Priest of Sant’Angela Merici
13. Eugenio Dal Corso, Cardinal-Priest of Sant’Anastasia

In the past there has been no hesitation to create new cardinal titles despite the availability of existing ones, but this time around only one new title church has been added: Sant’Egidio for Cardinal Zuppi. A sensible choice as the cardinal is a member of the movement with the same name. Other notable titles given are Sant’Anastasia for Cardinal Dal Corso – until this year the title of Cardinal Godfried Danneels – and Santi Aquila e Priscilla – Cardinal García Rodríguez is the archbishop of Havana, and the previous holder of the title church was his predecessor in the Cuban capital. Cardinal Hollerich’s title church was most recently held by Cardinal José Pimiento de Rodriguez, for a while the oldest cardinal in the world.

Considering Pope Francis’ habit of choosing cardinals from the peripheries, from countries with small Catholic communities or on the fringes of global affairs, the list of nationalities of cardinals has become a lenghty one. Most cardinals are the only ones from their country, while others have a fair number of countrymen in the College of Cardinals. Starting with the countries with the largest number of cardinals, the list is as follows:

• Italy: 42 cardinals
• Spain, United States: 14
• Brazil: 10
• Germany: 8
• France, Mexico, Poland: 6
• Portugal: 5
• Argentina, Canada, India: 4
• Chile, Nigeria, Philippines: 3
• Angola, Australia, Colombia, Congo-Kinshasa, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Lithuania, Netherlands, New Zealand, Peru, South Korea, Switzerland, Thailand, United Kingdom, Venezuela, Vietnam: 2
• Albania, Austria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Côte d’Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guatemala, Guinea, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, Iraq, Ireland, Japan, Kenya, Laos, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mali, Malta, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Romania, Saint Lucia, Senegal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Sudan, Sweden, Tanzania, Tonga, Uganda, Ukraine, Uruguay: 1

So the Italian influence in the College of Cardinals is still great as is that of Europe in general, but this is balanced in the first place by the cardinals from North and South America, but also by the increasing number of far-flung countries from the Caribbean to the Pacific. Pope Francis aims to make the College of Cardinals, which not only elects his successor, but also works with him in the Roman Curia for the global church, to be a reflection of that world. With today’s consistory, he has taken another step in that direction.

Photo credit: Église catholique à Luxembourg – Kathoulesch Kierch zu Lëtzebuerg

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A decade’s wait over – Trondheim to get a new bishop

After a vacancy that lasted just over a decade, the Territorial Prelature of Trondheim will finally have a bishop-prelate again. Since 2009, when Bishop Georg Müller was forced to retire (more about that here), the pastoral responsibility for the central Norwegian circumscription was in the hands of the bishop of Oslo, Bernt Eidsvig, who served as apostolic administrator.

The new bishop of Trondheim is a Norwegian, but coming home by way of England, where he has been the abbot of the Mount Saint Bernard Abbey, a Trappist monastery in Leicestershire. Bishop-elect Erik Varden is, despite his role as abbot, young for a bishop. At 45, he is the fifteenth-youngest bishop in the world, and certainly the youngest in Scandinavia and Europe (if we exclude Ukraine, a country which can boast seven bishops aged 43 and younger). Additionaly, Fr. Varden has also not been a priest or a religious for very long. He entered the Order of the Cistercians of the Strict Observance in 2002, made his first profession in 2004, his solemn vows in 2007 and was ordained a priest in 2011. He has been the abbot of Mount St. Bernard since April of 2015.

Fr. Varden was informed of his appointment by Archbishop Edward Adams, the Apostolic Nuncio to Great Britain. The fact that it was that nuncio, and not Archbishop James Green, the papal representative to Norway, who made this call, does beg the question if the appointment was made with or without the latter’s involvement. In a letter to the faithful of Trondheim, who number some 14.000 in 5 parishes, Bishop-elect Varden reflects on the significance of the date on which he received the news, writing:

“On the feast of St Theodore of Tarsus, 19 September, I was told that the Pope had named me bishop of Trondheim. The Nuncio in London communicated the news. He could not have been kinder. He reminded me that Theodore, like me, had been a monk; that he, too, in the name of obedience had been asked to leave a life and brethren he loved dearly. A compatriot of St Paul, he was appointed to Canterbury in 669. And there, said the Nuncio, he became a blessing — a sign of the Church’s unity, which transcends national and cultural boundaries. Theodore ‘set the Church on a firm foundation’, says the Collect for the day, which continues: ‘[may we too] remain steadfast on the rock which is Christ and be obedient to the calling we have received’.”

In the same letter, the new bishop also outlines something of a mission statement. Sharing a conversation he had in Ireland with an elderly monk on his death bed, who said that it grieved him to see Christ disappearing from Ireland. Fr. Varden says this has been an inspiration for him ever since, and writes:

“The situation my brother referred to is the same in much of Europe. In a world, a time, ever more marked by indifference and cynicism, hopelessness and division, it is our task to stand for something else: to point toward the Light that no darkness can overcome, to nurture good will, to let ourselves be reconciled, to enable a communion founded on trust, in peace, to bear witness that death has lost its sting, that life is meaningful and beautiful, of inviolable dignity. This is a great responsibility, but also a privilege — a source of transformative joy.”

^Bishop-elect Erik Varden, left, with Bishop Bernt Eidsvig of Oslo, during the former’s previous visit to Trondheim in 2018, when he gave the annual Olsok lecture.

The modern Territorial Prelature of Trondheim, a designation which places it just beneath a full diocese, can trace its history back to 1931, when it was established as the Mission sui iuris of Central Norway. In 1935 it was elevated to an Apostolic Prefecture and in 1953 to an Apostolic Vicariate. It took its current form in 1979, taking the name of Trondheim instead of Central Norway. The territory has had bishops since 1953, and Bishop Varden will be the fourth in that line. The long vacancy of the seat of Trondheim is not unique, by the way. Between Bishop Gerhard Schwenzer (1979-1983) and Georg Müller (1997-2009), the vacancy lasted no less than fourteen years.

The time and place of Bishop Varden’s consecration and installation, as well as the prelates involved, are yet to be announced.

Who’s going to the Synod – a look at the list

The Holy See today released the full list of participants of the Special Assembly of the Synod of Bishops for the Pan-Amazon region, to take place from 6 to 27 October in Rome. The assembly, which has been the subject of much discussion, hopes and fears over the past months, will discuss the problems faced by the Church in the Amazon region and try to find specific solutions with an eye on both the availability of the sacraments to the faithful there and the threats faced by people and environment in that area. Solutions which the synod assembly may arrive at could, some fear, then be applied globally. The topic of mandatory celibacy for priests has received special attention, as more than a few have suggested that the Synod could allow married men to be ordained to the priesthood so as to relieve that shortage of priests in the Amazon region. The theological and ecclesiastical repercussions, some fear, could have global consequences.

Apart from the usual suspects, such as the heads of the dicasteries of the curia and religious elected by the Union of Superior Generals, the majority of participants are bishops and priests from the Amazon region. Countries represented are Guyana*, Suriname*, French Guiana*, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela.

As ever, there will also be a number of ‘fraternal delegates’ representing other Christian church communities. In this case, the Presbyterian, Evangelical, Anglican and Lutheran churches and the Assembly of God. Other special invitations were issued to a number of lay experts including former secretary general of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon.

Pope Francis has also selected a number of personal appointments. These include a number of cardinals who have long been considered his closest collaborators, such as Cardinals Maradiaga, Gracias and Marx.  He has also added three prelates who will be made cardinals on October 4th, just days before the assembly opens: Archbishops Ambongo Besungu of Kinshasa and Hollerich of Luxembourg (at left), and Fr. Czerny of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, who also serves as one of the two special secretaries of the Synod assembly.

Also of note is the role of Bishop Karel Choennie of Paramaribo (at right). As his diocese, which covers all of Suriname, is included in the pan-Amazon region, he is an automatic participant, but he has also served on the Presynodal Council, which was tasked with the preparations for the upcoming assembly. Another member of this body is Bishop Erwin Kräutler, the Austrian-born bishop-prelate emeritus of Xingu in Brazil. The 80-year-old prelate presents himself as a close confidant of Pope Francis, but he also supports a number of problematic changes to Catholic teaching and practice.

Lastly, while the list of participants makes clear that this special assembly is very much localised – devoted to a specific area, led by people from that area – there are some connections to the wider world. In the first place to Rome of course, with the curia involved as they are in every Synod assembly. Other continents are also represented however. Among the pontifical appointments, Europe stands out, mostly because of the presence of Italian prelates. And these are not only members of the curia, but also ordinaries of Italian dioceses. Among the special invitees, Germany is also quite present. While only Cardinal Marx was invited by the pope, the heads of Adveniat (the German Church’s aid organisation for the Church in Latin America) and Misereor (the German bishops’ development organisation) will also participate. Asia is rather absent, but Africa is not. The presence of two participants from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as well as, from Oceania, Cardinal Ribat from Papua New Guinea, makes sense, as these countries both include large stretches of pristine rain forest and a significant number of Catholic faithful who can not always be reached easily. The same problems are also faced in the Amazon. North America, then, is represented by a Canadian and four Americans, including Bishop Robert McElroy of San Diego, a like mind to Pope Francis.

* As the bishops of these countries are members of the bishops’ conference of the Antilles, the president of that body, Bishop Gabriel Malzaire of Roseau, Dominica, also participates.

Strengthened in concern – Cardinal Woelki’s visit to the USA

Returning once again to Cardinal Woelki’s summer holiday visit to the United States, the Kirchenzeitung of the Archdiocese of Cologne shares an interview with the cardinal looking back on said trip. Next to relating about friendly visits with American prelates and religious communities and finding inspiration for Church life back home, the cardinal also speaks about how the Church in Germany is seen abroad. This especially in light of the independent approach to perceived liberties allowed under the current papacy.

Cardinal Woelki says:

“I was surprised by how closely my conversation partners are following the situation of the Church in Europe and especially in Germany. Everywhere I was struck with the concern about current developments in Germany. A noticeable concern in many encounters was that the “synodal path” is taking us on a specifically German path, that, at worst, we are putting the communion with the universal Church at risk and are so becoming a German national church. That is not something that anyone should want, and we should take that warning very seriously. Many of my conversation partners expressed their disbelief that in Germany we appear to be willing to change the deposit of faith entrusted to us, just because this is loudly demanded of us. The fear that this could lead to a split in the universal Church, or even a split in the German Church, was openly expressed. Of course the dioceses in America are also not immune to the questions which concern us. But I am under the impression that there they are providing answers based on the faith of the universal Church, and not in the form of independent national action or some form of theological overconfidence.”

Cardinal Woelki has, of course, been one of the German bishops most critical of the synodal path promoted by his brethren. His visit to the USA strenghtened him in that.

“I feel supported in my position. I believe that the path which is currently being sought in Germany contains grave dangers – especially the risk of a split in the German church. In his letter the Pope has clearly urged us to maintain the “Sensus Ecclesiae“, the “sense of faith of the Church” and remain in communion with the universal Church and the faith of the Church. I return home encouraged and have sensed on this journey, in a very concrete way, what it means to belong to the Catholic world Church. This unity acriss all national boundaries is very valuable, especially for us Germans. We should hold fast to that.”

Topping up – new cardinals announced for October

Pope Francis yesterday surprisingly announced that he will create 13 new cardinals on 5 October. Surprisingly, because the numbers do not really suggest the ned for a consistory at this time. There are currently 118 electors, cardinals who are active in the Roman Curia and who can vote in a conclave to elect a new Pope, with only 8 aging out between now and the end of 2020. It is clear, however, that Pope Francis prefers having too many rather than too few cardinals, and so habitually ignores the rule that there can only be a maximum of 120 electors (he’s not the only Pope to have done so, however: Pope St. John Paul II once expanded their number to a massive 135).

And, as ever, he also aims for a representative College of Cardinals. In this round, he selects prelates from Luxembourg and Morocco, countries which have never had a cardinal before, but also more traditional cardinalatial sees such as Bologna, Havana and Kinshasa.

And again we see the fallout of recent papal visits abroad. Hence cardinals from Lithuania (visited in September of 2018) and Morocco (March 2019).

After 5 October, there will be 215 cardinals, with 128 electors. Two days later, the latter number will drop again, as Cardinal-designate Ambongo Besungu’s predecessor in Kinshasa, Cardinal Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya, reaches the age of 80.

Below a list of the new cardinals:

• Miguel Angel Ayuso Guixot (67, Spain)
  • President of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue and Prefect of the Commission for Religious Relations with Muslims.
• José Tolentino Medonça (53, Portugal)
  • Librarian of the Vatican Apostolic Library and Archivist of the Vatican Secret Archives.
• Ignatius Suharyo Hardjoatmodjo (69, Indonesia)
  • Metropolitan Archbishop of Jakarta, Military Ordinary of Indonesia and President of the Episcopal Conference of Indonesia
• Juan de la Caridad  Garciá Rodríguez (71, Cuba)
  • Metropolitan Archbishop of La Habana
• Fridolin Ambongo Besungu (59, Democratic Republic of the Congo)
  • Metropolitan Archbishop of Kinshasa and Vice-President of the National Episcopal Conference of Congo
• Jean-Claude Hollerich (60, Luxembourg) (pictured above)
  • Archbishop of Luxembourg and President of the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Community
• Alvaro Leonel Ramazzini Imeri (72, Guatemala)
  • Bishop of Huehuetenango
• Matteo Zuppi (63, Italy) (pictured at left giving a homily at the Church of the Frisians in Rome in 2015)
  • Metropolitan Archbishop of Bologna
• Cristóbal López Romero (67, Morocco)
  • Archbishop of Rabat
• Michael Czerny (73, Canada)
  • Undersecretary of the Migrant and Refugee Section of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development
• Michael Louis Fitzgerald (82, United Kingdom)
  • Apostolic Nuncio emeritus to Egypt and Delegate emeritus to the League of Arab States
• Sigitas Tamkevicius (80, Lithuania)
  • Metropolitan Archbishop emeritus of Kaunas
• Eugenio Dal Corso (80, Angola)
  • Bishop emeritus of Benguela

Of these, cardinals-designate Fitzgerald, Tamkevicius and Dal Corso, being 80 or older, are ineligible to participate in a conclave. Their selection must therefore be seen as a recognition for their work for the Church and the people in their pastoral care.

Cardinal-designate Czerny is also the first elector who is not yet a bishop upon his selection. Priests who are not (yet) bishops can be made cardinals, but this usually only happens for non-electors. As a Jesuit, Msgr. Czerny will probably request dispensation to not be ordained as a bishop before his creation as cardinal. This is par of the course for Jesuits who are not yet made bishops for other reasons (such as Pope Francis, who was ordained a bishop in 1992 to serve as auxiliary bishop of Buenos Aires).

European bishops reflect on the United States

Two European bishops have spent their summer holidays visiting the United States, and both have shared some of their thoughts and experiences on social media. And both have perhaps unavoidably, noticed the differences between their countries and the behemoth across the Atlantic Ocean.

Bishop Gerard de Korte of ‘s-Hertogenbosch travelled New England, including New York and Washington DC, with his sister, and wrote an article for Nederlands Dagblad. Noting the immense economic, military and cultural influence of the United States on the rest of the world, as well as the kind and informal attitude of its inhabitants, Bishop de Korte devotes most of his article to the political stalemate of two parties, virtually equal in size, who are increasingly unwilling to cooperate, and the media’s eagerness to contribute to this increasing polarisation, which the bishops calls “extreme”.

A similar gap exists in society, the bishop writes. Whereas most European countries have established extensive social welfare systems to help those people who can’t make ends meet, in the United States this falls mostly to private organisations and citizens, including the churches. While this expression of Christianity is far more developed than it is in Europe, it is no structural solution to solve the injustices underlying the enormous differences between rich and poor.

Bishop de Korte concludes his article with the hope that the churches can build bridges and add unity and nuance to the political and social debates. “What American society needs now are reasonable and moderate leaders in church and society”.

Another European prelate visiting the United States is the archbishop of Cologne, Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki. He shared his experiences via his Twitter account, in both German and English. Sharing encounters with religious communites (the Little Sisters of the Poor, the Sisters of Life and the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal), parish  visits and meetings with brother bishops Cardinal Dolan of New York, Cardinal O’Malley of Boston and Archbishop Wilton of Washington, as well as a harbour tour in Boston and visits to the 9/11 monument in New York and the White House, and a hamburger meal with Catholic youth in Washington, Cardinal Woelki’s account is mostly positive and hopeful. About his meeting with the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, he writes:

“So many Catholic changes in America: the Franciscans of the Renewal care for the homeless in the Bronx and live from what is given to them. Their communties are small, but growing! I wonder what we can learn from them.”

And there was time to throw some hoops…

Looking in from the outside, it is often easy to find fault with a person or, in this case, a country. And while it is clear there are problems and worrisome developments under the current American presidency, the positive things should not be forgotten. While we may be conviced that America can learn from Europe, the reverse is also true.

The Catholic involvement in American society is both inspired and down-to-earth. I see this also in those American priests and bishops I follow on social media; to be effective and make an impact in society, however great or small, it is necessary to get dirty hands, to be involved in a way that people can relate to. Sadly, this is something I don’t see often enough in the Netherlands (although it does happen). Sure, a priest and bishop has important duties and is a rolemodel and example. But he is also a person and must relate to other people. Share those personal passions and interests, show that you’re into sports, movies, music, cooking, gardening, whatever, joke around a bit… Be a man of God among men (and women). A cardinal playing basketball (or wondering why there is no thirteenth floor in his hotel, as Cardinal Woelki also did, leading to the question why faith evaporates while superstition persist): I’m all for it.

Photo credit: [1] RKKerk.nl, [2]  Cardinal Woelki’s social media team on Twitter.

For the first time in Luxembourg, an auxiliary bishop

For the first time in its 180-year-history, the Archdiocese of Luxembourg earlier this week received an auxiliary bishop. This is related to the duties of Archbishop Jean-Claude Hollerich as president of COMECE, the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Community, which sees him travelling abroad regularly. The archbishop welcomed the appointment from Lourdes, where he participated in a diocesan pilgrimage, in a brief message.

57-year-old vicar general Msgr. Léon Wagener will take on this new duty for Luxembourg. He is a native of Ettelbruck, near Diekirch in northern Luxembourg, and was ordained a priest in 1988, just months before Luxembourg became an archdiocese. Msgr. Wagener has been almoner for (rural) youth and delegate and episcopal vicar for pastoral care, as well as parsh priest in Diekirch, Pontpierre and Luxembourg. In 20122 he was appointed as titular canon of the Cathedral of Our Lady in Luxembourgand he has been vicar-general since 2015. He is also an honorary chaplain of the Marian shrine of Lourdes. Bishop-elect Wagener will be the titular bishop of Aquæ Novæ in Numidia, in modern Algeria. That see was most recently held by Colombian Bishop Francisco Múnera Correa.

The Archdiocese of Luxembourg covers the entirety of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and has been a separate circumscription since 1840. It became a diocese in 1870 and an archdiocese in 1988. Archbishop Jean-Claude Hollerich has led the archdiocese since 2011. It is home to some 425.000 Catholics in 275 parishes. Some 180 priests and 400 lay religious assure the pastoral care in the archdiocese.

Photo credit: cathol.lu

First native son to lead modern Catholic Finland retires

Following a period of ill health, Finland’s first native-born bishop of the modern era retired early today.. Marking his 72nd birthday, Bishop Teemu Sippo announced the news in a letter to the faithful. Bishop Sippo headed the Diocese of Helsinki, which covers all of Finland, since 2009. He cites his ailing health, worsened by a fall at Christmas time, as the reason for his retirement

The previous sede vacante of Helsinki lasted almost a year, so the appointment of a new bishop of one of the northernmost dioceses in the world could still be some time in the future.

The Diocese of Helsinki was established as the Apostolic Vicariate of Finland in 1920, from territory belonging to the Archdiocese of Mohilev, which then included large parts of Russia. Finland had only just gained its independence from Russia, which was in the midst of post-Revolution civil war.

In the first three years of its existence, an Apostolic Administrator would lead the new circumscription: the Dutch priest, Fr. Michiel Buckx, a priest of the Congregation of the Priests of the Sacred Heart, or Dehonians. Fr. Buckx would be appointed as the first vicar apostolic in 1923, and was made a bishop as well. He would be suceeded in 1933 be another Dutchman, Bishop Gulielmus Cobben, another Dehonian. When the apostolic vicariate was promoted to the Diocese of Helsinki in 1955, Bishop Cobben continued as bishop of Helsinki. In 1964 he recieved a coadjutor bishop, again a Dutch Dehonian, Bishop Paul Verschuren. He succeeded Bishop Cobben in 1967 and remained in office until 1998, during which period he served four terms as president of the Scandinavian bishops’ conference, the first from 1973 to 1978, and the other three from 1986 to 1998. Bishop Verschuren was succeeded by another Dehonian, but one from Poland this time. Bishop Józef Wróbel served from 2000 to 2008, after which he returned to Poland to become an auxiliary bishop of Lublin. In 2009, Fr. Teemu Sippo, who had served as apostolic administrator following the reassignment of Bishop Wróbel, was appointed as the first Finnish bishop of Helsinki. He was consecrated in the Lutheran cathedral of Helsinki by Cardinal Karl Lehmann of Mainz, Bishop Wróbel and Copenhagen’s Bishop Czeslaw Kozon. Cardinal Lehmann had been Bishop Sippo’s thesis advisor when he studied in Freiburg in the 1970s.

Of the 5.5 million inhabitants of Finland, only some 14,00 are Catholic. These are spread over some 340,000 square kilometers and are served by some 30 priests. The Diocese of Helsinki consists of 8 parishes.

A new “travelling Pope”

Pope Francis returns from his visit to Bulgaria and North Macedonia today, and so concludes his 29th international journey. He has visited all continents except Oceania and Antarctica (hey, if the Orthodox Patriarch of Moscow can do it…), and more than a few of his travels have been the first papal visits to the countries in question. And with those data, it is clear that the title of “Traveling Pope” should now be given to the current pontiff.

Pope Saint John Paul II is the traditional holder of the moniker, and not without reason. In the 31 years if his papacy he made 104 international visits to 129 different countries. Pope Francis has been pope for a little more than six years, so any useful comparison must take that into account. Comparing it with the first 6 years (and two months) of St. John Paul II’s papacy, Pope Francis comes out on top, with 29 visits, five more than the late pontiff’s 24 (Pope Benedict XVI, in comparison, made 20 international visits in the same timespan).

Like St. John Paul II, Pope Francis immediately struck out far abroad, with visits to Brazil, Israel and South Korea before visiting a country closer to Italy, Albania, on his fourth visit. St. John Paul II went to the Dominican Republic, Mexico and the Bahamas before heading to a European destination (in his case Poland), although those first three countries were visited on a single trip, whereas Francis made three separate journeys. Pope Benedict XVI, on the other hand, first focussed on Europe, visiting Poland, Spain and Germany (twice) before visiting Turkey and Brazil.

Both Benedict XVI and Francis inherited their first papal visit from their predecessor, and both were made in the context of the World Youth Day. Benedict XVI visited Cologne and Francis Rio de Janeiro.

Unlike his two predecessors, Pope Francis did not include his native country among his first visits. In fact, he is yet to visit Argentina. St. John Paul II visited Poland on his second visit and Benedict XVI went to Germany on his very first, although, as mentioned above, he inherited that visit from St. John Paul II. His fourth visit was again to Germany.

In comparing Popes Francis and St. John Paul II, one more thing must be noted: their age. St. John Paul II was between 58 and 64 in his first six years as pope. Francis was 76 when elected, and is now 82. That makes him being the new “travelling Pope” all the more remarkable.

Photo credit: [1] AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia, [2] Tim Graham/Getty Images

 

For vocations and liturgy, Rottenburg-Stuttgart adds a third auxiliary

A third auxiliary bishop for the German Diocese of Rottenburg-Stuttgart was appointed today. 50-year-old Msgr. Gerhard Schneider joins Auxiliary Bishops Thomas Renz and Matthaus Karrer, and ordinary Bishop Gebhard Fürst at the head of the diocese which covers the central and eastern parts of the state of Baden-Württemberg.

The diocese becomes one of six in Germany with three auxiliary bishops. In recent years, the Diocese of Münster and the Archdiocese of Hamburg actually took steps to decrease their number of auxiliaries.

The appointment comes at the request of Bishop Fürst, who expects that it will lead to a “strengthening in the ministry towards vocations and young people in spiritual professions, as well as the celebration of the liturgy with art and Church music.”

Msgr. Schneider, who worked at a bank before studying theology in Rome and Tübingen, was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Fürst in 2002. From 2004 to 2009 he was attached to the theology department of the diocese at Tübingen, after which he took over the leadership of the preliminary seminary Ambrosianum. Since 2010 he has been responsible for vocations ministry in the diocese. Since 2012 he has also been a member of the diocesan chancery for liturgy, including art and music, and vocations. Msgr. Schneider will continue this work as auxiliary bishop.

Msgr. Schneider sees his new mission as a clear challenge: “As Church we are in the midst of  deep crisis and we must regain a lot of trust. That must become visible in what we do and how we do it.”

Bishop-elect Schneider will be the titular bishop of Abbir Germaniciana, a titular see located in modern Tunisia. It was most recently held by Bishop Leo Schwarz, auxiliary of Trier, who died last November. The consecration of Msgr. Schneider will take place before the summer holidays in July. Consecrating bishops will almost certainly be Bishop Fürst and the other two auxiliary bishops of Rottenburg-Stuttgart.

Photo credit: P.Rainer Mozer / Katholisch.de