Finland: There are not enough churches for growing Catholic population

Bishop Raimo Goyarrola of Helskinki leading parishioners on prayer walk. Image: CIC

Source: Aid to the Church in Need

Priests in Finland are travelling halfway across the country to reach parishioners as there are not enough churches to meet the growing Catholic population.

Bishop Raimo Goyarrola of Helsinki told Aid to the Church in Need (ACN): "Every weekend we cover thousands of kilometres to bring the heavenly food to our faithful. There are many families who ask to have tabernacles in the village but there is no church."

The Diocese of Helsinki is the only diocese in the Nordic country and spans some 211,266 miles (340,000 kilometres). There are eight parishes in the diocese and 28 priests for a Catholic population, which while only 0.2 percent of the 5.5 million inhabitants, are thinly spread around the country. As of 2018, there were 15,000 registered and 10,000 unregistered Catholics living in Finland - including more than 6,000 Catholic families, half of whom are of international origin.

To make up for the lack of Catholic churches,Bishop Goyarrola said he was grateful that 20 Lutherans and the five Eastern Orthodox churches lend their buildings every Sunday.

Finland is one of the richest countries in the world, ranked 13th on the Human Development Index, but the Catholic Church there is among the poorest in Europe.

Bishop Goyarrola said: "Unlike other churches in the country, we do not receive state support and are therefore very poor."

Members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland and the Eastern Orthodox Church pay a church tax - which they receive back from the government - but the Catholic Church does not as it's too small to qualify for the scheme.

Bishop Goyarrola said he struggles to cover basic needs like paying staff, running catechism courses and supporting charitable programmes. There is no money to build chapels, Catholic schools or pastoral centres for children.

He said the number of Catholics has been growing over the past two decades, with an increasing demand for baptisms for adults as well as children. Some of the new converts include traditional Lutherans who, having fallen away from the Lutheran Church, were subsequently drawn to Catholicism.

Bishop Goyarrola said: "In Finland, a Catholic will often find himself the only one in his school or place of work. Despite this, Catholics don't hide and are not afraid to let the people around them know that they are Catholics, or to speak to them about Christ.

"They speak naturally about the Eucharist and about Jesus. They are missionaries and apostles everywhere they go and are an example to the rest of the world."

The bishop believes nature offers a context for encountering God and has organised youth camps in Lapland for several years to unite worshippers and strengthen their faith.

Migrants or refugees who have come from places with a strong Catholic tradition, like the Philippines or Latin America, or from war zones such as Sudan, Myanmar and Ukraine, join the Finnish Catholics on these trips.

He said: "Carrying 30kg (66lb) rucksacks and walking together in the rain or snow in breathtaking countryside creates deep friendships, conversions and a strengthened faith."

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Aid to the Church in Need: https://acnuk.org