Roman Catholicism in the Faroe Islands

The history of Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...

in the Faroe Islands
Faroe Islands
The Faroe Islands are an island group situated between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, approximately halfway between Scotland and Iceland. The Faroe Islands are a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, along with Denmark proper and Greenland...

goes back to the year 999, when king Olav Tryggvason of Norway

Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

sent Sigmundur Brestisson

Sigmundur Brestisson

Sigmundur Brestisson introduced Christianity to the Faroe Islands in 999. He is one of the main characters of the Færeyinga saga.According to the Færeyinga Saga, emigrants who left Norway to escape the tyranny of Harald I of Norway, settled in the islands about the beginning of the 9th century...

on a mission to the islands with several priests. The islands became an independent diocese in 1111, but were officially reformed

Protestant Reformation

The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...

in 1537 and the last Catholic bishop was executed in 1538. After 1538, the Catholic Church was only revived in 1931 as a part of the bishopric of Copenhagen

Copenhagen

Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...

. The state church is now the Protestant

Protestantism

Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...

Faroese People's Church.

Today there are 130 Catholic believers from 23 nations living on the Faroe Islands. Their center of worship is the Mariukirkjan (St. Mary's Church) in Tórshavn

Tórshavn

Tórshavn is the capital and largest town of the Faroe Islands. It is located in the southern part on the east coast of Streymoy. To the north west of the town lies the high mountain Húsareyn, and to the southwest, the high Kirkjubøreyn...

. Although the Catholic presence is small, the Church has had a large impact through the St. Frans school, run by the Franciscan Sisters since its establishment in 1933.

Early history

Today, there is strong reason to believe that the first settlers on the Faroe Islands were Irish monks. They introduced sheep and oats to the Faroes. Latest archaeological excavations indicate that this could have been as early as in the 6th century. More information is available at The Irish Connection.

In 999, the Norwegian king Olav Tryggvason sent the Viking chieftain Sigmundur Brestisson

Sigmundur Brestisson

along with several priests to the Faroese in order to baptize the people and instruct them in the best of the Christian faith. The teachings were Catholic

Roman Catholic Church

The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...

, as Norway was at that time.

In 1100, the Faroes were elevated to become the independent Faroese Diocese, and in the year 1111 the first Bishop took office in Kirkjubøur

Kirkjubøur

Kirkjubøur is the southernmost village on Streymoy, Faroe Islands and the country's most important historical site.It is located on the west coast and has a view towards the islands Hestur and Koltur.-History:...

. During the next 400 years, 34 Catholic bishops resided in Kirkjubøur. The last bishop was Ámundur Ólavsson, who held his office until his death in 1538.

Protestant Reformation

Christian III of Denmark

Christian III reigned as king of Denmark and Norway. He was the eldest son of King Frederick I and Anna of Brandenburg.-Childhood:...

suspended the Norwegian parliament in 1535, and Denmark

Denmark

Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

annexed Norway

Norway

along with the Faroe Islands. In 1537 the king decreed that the official state churches in Norway, Denmark and the Faroes be reformed in accordance with the Lutheran doctrine adopted at the Augsburg Confession

Augsburg Confession

The Augsburg Confession, also known as the "Augustana" from its Latin name, Confessio Augustana, is the primary confession of faith of the Lutheran Church and one of the most important documents of the Lutheran reformation...

in 1530.

During the Reformation the old bishop's office was disestablished and the Roman Catholic Bishop of Hamar was executed in 1542. The seminary was closed. The Crown confiscated all lands held by the Catholic Church, which had occupied about 40 percent of the Faroes.

Bavarian Intermezzo

After the introduction of freedom of religion with the first Danish Constitution

Constitution of Denmark

The Constitutional Act of Denmark is the Kingdom of Denmark's constitution, or fundamental law. Originally verified in 1849, the last revision was signed on 5 June 1953 as "the existing law, for all to unswerving comply with, the Constitutional Act of Denmark".-Idea and structure:The main...

in 1849, there was an attempt to revive the Catholic Church on the Faroes. In 1857, Bavarian priest Georg Bauer arrived on the islands. He built a church in Rættará, Tórshavn

Tórshavn

, but did not find many followers. When he left the Faroes in 1880 he had no successor, and the building decayed.

By 1900 only one Catholic remained on the Faroes, in Hvítanes

Hvítanes

Hvítanes is a village in the Faroe Islands, noted for its beauty . It is on Streymoy's east coast, northeast of Hoyvík and Tórshavn. Its name means "White Point" in Faroese.*Population: 99*Postal code : FO 187*Location: *Municipality: Tórshavnar...

. She had a chapel to herself. Once a year a priest from Copenhagen

Copenhagen

visited her to read mass.

The Franciscan Sisters

In 1931 two young priests, E. G. Boekenogen and Thomas King, undertook the task of re-establishing a Catholic presence on the Faroes. In a house leased to the Franciscan sisters who came to the Faroes in 1931, a small church was consecrated on May 23 that same year. Among the first to visit this church were some old people who had in their youth attended Father Bauer's church.

The congregation soon outgrew the small church in Bringsnagøta, and together with the new school of St. Francis, which the sisters had built, a new Church of Mary was consecrated on June 1, 1933.

The first sisters arrived on the Faroe Islands in April 1931, in response to an appeal made by Cardinal Van Rossum to help the Faroese people and to re-establish the presence of the Catholic Church on the islands. Over the years, they built up a school, a crèche, and a kindergarten, and served the needs of the small Catholic community which gradually formed. Today, there are approximately 130 Catholics of 23 nationalities in the Faroes.

The Franciscan sisters of the Faroe Islands were known for their good works and tolerance. They organized an annual bazaar, using the proceeds to fund their school. They also worked to alleviate the needs of the hungry of the world. Some students of the school were taken in as foster children. Faroese teachers taught in Faroese

Faroese language

Faroese , is an Insular Nordic language spoken by 48,000 people in the Faroe Islands and about 25,000 Faroese people in Denmark and elsewhere...

, even though the sisters themselves were foreigners from across Europe. They learned the Faroese language and spoke with an accent, which was called the "Nun Accent." It never disappeared. They also taught their students about the Bible, prayer and the basics of Christianity, although they were unable to teach the Catholic faith. Their lifestyle of tolerance served as a model for many Faroese people.

St. Francis school was always a step ahead of the rest of the school system. In benchmark tests their students were always among the best.

In 1985 St. Francis School came under the care of Tórshavn Town Council because the Franciscan sisters were too old to run it any more. Today they have 350 students and 30 teachers. The typical red school building of 1934, designed by the Faroese architect H. C. W. Tórgarð, is remembered by generations of Tórshavners who were instructed there. In 1987 a new school building was dedicated.

The present Franciscan community is the only community of religious sisters on the islands. At the moment, it is made up of six sisters of four nationalities: Flemish, Maltese, Irish and Korean. The primary mission of the sisters is to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ; to support the small Catholic community on the islands; and to represent the Catholic Church on the way towards Christian unity. Two of the sisters continue to work in the kindergarten established by the sisters. The sisters are also engaged in a variety of other apostolates: education; faith formation; prayer groups; inter-church activities; visiting the sick and the elderly; welcoming various groups; service of the poor.

Mary's Church Today

The current St. Mary's church was consecrated on 30 August 1987. The Catholic community gathers every Sunday at 11 o'clock for Mass. The atmosphere of the church invites one to prayer and stillness. "Kerit", the convent of the Franciscan sisters is to be found beside the church.

There are approximately 130 Catholics throughout the islands, at least a third of whom are Faroese. A few young parishioners trace their roots back five generations; others trace their roots back to their grandparents. Faroese people are received into the Catholic Church at regular intervals, the most recent being in June, 2010. Two Faroese parishioner represented the Catholic Church and the Faroe Islands during the visit of Pope John Paul II to Denmark in 1989. Both were attired in national dress and had the privilege of receiving Holy Communion from Pope John Paul. The other parishioners come from 23 different nations: Denmark, and various countries of Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, North and South America and Oceania.

On Sunday, 25 June 2006, the parish community celebrated the 75th. anniversary of the re-establishment of the Catholic Church on the Faroe Islands in 1931 and the founding of the present Catholic community. Bishop Kozon and parish priest, Fr. Lars Messerschmidt, made a special weekend visit to the Faroes. Bishop Kozon was the main celebrant. The Mass was televised and transmitted on Faroese Television in the afternoon. The Lutheran bishop was a special guest. One of the tourists present at the celebration Mass was a former President of Ecuador (1992-97).

In the garden surrounding the church a variety of plants are grown. Many of them originate from remote areas of the Southern Hemisphere with growing conditions similar to those of the Faroe Islands. These plants symbolize the place of the St. Mary's Church in the global Catholic community.

External links

Katolsk.fo - Homepage (English, Danish and Faroese)
http://www.fmm.glauco.it/fmm/s2magazine/mostraV3.jsp?idPagina=1 Franciscan Sisters
Stamps.fo - Faroese Post (Public Domain)

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.