The
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
in the
Faroe Islands
The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic island group and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark.
They are located north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway bet ...
goes back to the year 999, when king
Olav Tryggvason
Olaf Tryggvason (960s – 9 September 1000) was King of Norway from 995 to 1000. He was the son of Tryggvi Olafsson, king of Viken (Vingulmark, and Rånrike), and, according to later sagas, the great-grandson of Harald Fairhair, first King of N ...
of
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
sent
Sigmundur Brestisson
Sigmundur Brestisson (961–1005) was a Faroese Viking chieftain, and was responsible for introducing Christianity to the Faroe Islands in 999. He is one of the main characters of the Færeyinga saga.
According to the Færeyinga saga, emigrant ...
on a mission to the islands with several priests. The islands became an independent diocese in 1111, but were officially
reformed
Reform is beneficial change
Reform may also refer to:
Media
* ''Reform'' (album), a 2011 album by Jane Zhang
* Reform (band), a Swedish jazz fusion group
* ''Reform'' (magazine), a Christian magazine
*''Reforme'' ("Reforms"), initial name of the ...
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 ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
. The state church is now the
Protestant
Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
Faroese People's Church
The Church of the Faroe Islands ( fo, Fólkakirkjan , lit= people's church; da, Færøernes folkekirke) is one of the smallest state churches in the world. Prior to becoming independent on 29 July 2007, it was a diocese of the Church of Denma ...
.
Today there are about 270 Catholics from over 23 nations living on the Faroe Islands.
Their center of worship is ''Mariukirkjan'' (St Mary's Church) in
Tórshavn
Tórshavn (; lit. "Thor's harbour"), usually locally referred to as simply ''Havn'', is the capital and largest city of the Faroe Islands. It is located in the southern part on the east coast of Streymoy. To the northwest of the city lies the ...
, the only Catholic church on the Faroes. Although the Catholic presence is small, the Church has had a large impact through the St. Francis 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
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
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 a
The Irish Connection
In 999, the Norwegian king
Olav Tryggvason
Olaf Tryggvason (960s – 9 September 1000) was King of Norway from 995 to 1000. He was the son of Tryggvi Olafsson, king of Viken (Vingulmark, and Rånrike), and, according to later sagas, the great-grandson of Harald Fairhair, first King of N ...
sent the Viking chieftain
Sigmundur Brestisson
Sigmundur Brestisson (961–1005) was a Faroese Viking chieftain, and was responsible for introducing Christianity to the Faroe Islands in 999. He is one of the main characters of the Færeyinga saga.
According to the Færeyinga saga, emigrant ...
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
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
, as Norway was at that time.
In 1100, the
Faroes
The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic island group and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark.
They are located north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway betw ...
were elevated to become the independent
Faroese Diocese, and in the year 1111 the first Bishop took office in
Kirkjubøur
Kirkjubøur ( da, Kirkebø) is the southernmost village on Streymoy, Faroe Islands. The village is located on the south-west coast of Streymoy and has a view towards the islands of Hestur and Koltur towards the west, and to Sandoy towards the so ...
. During the next 400 years, 34 Catholic bishops resided in Kirkjubøur. The last bishop was
Ámundur Ólavsson, who held his office until he was deposed in 1538.
Protestant Reformation
In 1537
Christian III of Denmark
Christian III (12 August 1503 – 1 January 1559) reigned as King of Denmark from 1534 and King of Norway from 1537 until his death in 1559. During his reign, Christian formed close ties between the church and the crown. He established ...
made Norway a
puppet state
A puppet state, puppet régime, puppet government or dummy government, is a State (polity), state that is ''de jure'' independent but ''de facto'' completely dependent upon an outside Power (international relations), power and subject to its o ...
(along with the Faroe Islands) under the Danish Crown. In 1537 the king decreed that the official state churches in Norway, Denmark and the Faroes be reformed in accordance with the
Lutheran
Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...
doctrine adopted at the
Augsburg Confession
The Augsburg Confession, also known as the Augustan Confession or 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 Protestant Re ...
in 1530. In 1538 the old catholic bishop's office was disestablished and the Faroe Islands got its
first
First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1).
First or 1st may also refer to:
*World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement
Arts and media Music
* 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...
and only
superintendent
Superintendent may refer to:
*Superintendent (police), Superintendent of Police (SP), or Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), a police rank
*Prison warden or Superintendent, a prison administrator
*Superintendent (ecclesiastical), a church exec ...
in 1540. 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
The Constitutional Act of the Realm of Denmark ( da, Danmarks Riges Grundlov), also known as the Constitutional Act of the Kingdom of Denmark, or simply the Constitution ( da, Grundloven, fo, Grundlógin, kl, Tunngaviusumik inatsit), is the c ...
in 1849, there was an attempt to revive the Catholic Church on the Faroes. In 1857, Bavarian priest
Georg Bauer
Georgius Agricola (; born Georg Pawer or Georg Bauer; 24 March 1494 – 21 November 1555) was a German Humanist scholar, mineralogist and metallurgist. Born in the small town of Glauchau, in the Electorate of Saxony of the Holy Roman Empire ...
arrived on the islands. He built a church in Rættará,
Tórshavn
Tórshavn (; lit. "Thor's harbour"), usually locally referred to as simply ''Havn'', is the capital and largest city of the Faroe Islands. It is located in the southern part on the east coast of Streymoy. To the northwest of the city lies the ...
, but did not find many followers. Seven people became Catholic. Others frequented his services. 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. She had a chapel to herself. Once a year a priest from
Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
visited her to celebrate Mass.
The Franciscan Sisters
In 1931 two young priests, E. G. Boekenogen (Dutch) and Thomas King (Scottish), undertook the task of re-establishing a Catholic presence on the Faroes. In a house leased to th
Franciscan sisterswho 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 nursery, and served the needs of the small Catholic community which gradually formed. Today, there are approximately 240 Catholics of more than 20 nationalities in the Faroes.
Th
Franciscan sistersof 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, 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 th
Franciscan sisterswere 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.
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 five nationalities: Flemish, Maltese, Irish, Korean and Filipino. The primary mission of the sisters is to proselytise and support the small Catholic community on the islands; and to represent the Catholic Church more generally. Two of the sisters continue to work in the nursery established by the sisters; another works in an after-school centre. 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; and charity.
St 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 270 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 July, 2020. Two Faroese parishioners 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 non-Faroese parishioners come from many 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 then 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.
See also
*
Ancient Diocese of the Faroe Islands
The former Catholic Church, Roman Catholic Diocese of the Faroe Islands existed from the 11th century to the Protestant Reformation. The Faroe Islands are now included in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Copenhagen.
History
As recorded in the Fære ...
*
Diocese of Copenhagen
The Diocese of Copenhagen (Danish: ''Københavns Stift'') is a diocese within the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Denmark. The Bishop of Copenhagen is currently Peter Skov-Jakobsen, who replaced Erik Normann Svendsen in 2009. The main cathedral of ...
*Ingi Rasmussen: "The teachers wore veils". In: ''Atlantic Review'' Autumn 2004, (
Atlantic Airways
Atlantic Airways (, Faroese: Atlantsflog) is the national airline of the Faroe Islands, operating domestic helicopter services and international passenger services as well as search and rescue responsibilities from its base at Vágar Airport, ...
, Sørvágur 2004), p. 5-
(and on stamps.fo)
References
External links
Katolsk.fo - Homepage(English and Faroese)
Franciscan Missionaries of MaryFranciscan sisters
Stamps.fo - Faroese Post(Public Domain)
(allgemeine Informationen zur Lage der katholischen Kirche in Nordeuropa, Färöer nicht speziell erwähnt) -->
{{coord, 62.0144, N, 6.7800, W, source:wikidata, display=title
no:Mariukirkjan