The Catholic Church in Estonia is the national branch of the worldwide

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 ...

, under the spiritual leadership of the

Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

in Rome.

History of Catholicism in Estonia

At the beginning of the 13th century,

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

was conquered by the German

Teutonic Order The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, commonly known as the Teutonic Order, is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. It was formed to aid Christians on ...

during the

Livonian Crusade The Livonian crusade refers to the various military Christianisation campaigns in medieval Livonia – in what is now Latvia and Estonia – during the Papal -sanctioned Northern Crusades in the 12–13th century. The Livonian crusade was cond ...

and thus was one of the last territories in Europe to be Christianized. However, some archaeological evidence suggests that Christianity was already known centuries prior to the conquest. Based on archaeological relics, such as crosses and metal book corners, some areas of Estonia were Christian prior to the 13th century. The whole of Estonia was subjugated by the year 1227 and, until the mid 16th century, Estonia was divided among feudal landlords and, thus, Catholic territory, although not yet unified. During the

Livonian War The Livonian War (1558–1583) was the Russian invasion of Old Livonia, and the prolonged series of military conflicts that followed, in which Tsar Ivan the Terrible of Russia (Muscovy) unsuccessfully fought for control of the region (pre ...

, medieval Estonia was conquered by the Swedes, initially occupying northern Estonia and, later, the southern part. Swedish rule, from 1561–1710, banned

Catholicism 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 ...

for the benefit of 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 ...

Church. In the

Great Northern War The Great Northern War (1700–1721) was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swedi ...

Sweden lost Estonia to Russia, which governed the land from 1710 to 1918. Imperial Russia granted vast privileges to the resident Baltic-German nobility of Estonia, including freedom to practice their Lutheran faith. During the 18th century, Polish and then Lithuanian Catholic noblemen started to make their own use of this right. The first Catholic mass, after more than a hundred years, was held on 18 January 1786. There were less than 300 Catholics in Estonia at that time.

began its revival. On 26 December 1845, the new Catholic Church of

Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju ' ...

was consecrated, followed by the new Catholic Church of

Tartu Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after the Northern European country's political and financial capital, Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 91,407 (as of 2021). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of ...

in 1899. In 1918, when Estonia gained independence,

n citizens had complete freedom of religion. The

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...

recognized

on 10 October 1921. In 1931

Eduard Profittlich Eduard Gottlieb Profittlich, Society of Jesus, SJ (11 September 1890, in Grafschaft, Rhineland, Birresdorf, village near Koblenz, German Empire – 22 February 1942, in Kirov, Kirov Oblast, Kirov, Soviet Union) was a Jesuit Germany, German Catho ...

, S.J. became the

apostolic administrator An Apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese (a stable 'pre-diocesan', usually missionary apostolic admi ...

for the Catholic Church in Estonia. In 1936 he was consecrated as the first

n Catholic

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

since the Lutheran reformation in the 16th century. Before

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

broke out, there were almost 5,000 Catholics in Estonia (Tallinn: 2.333, Tartu: 1.073, Narva: ca. 600, Valga: ca. 800). In 1940

was invaded by the

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

s and organised religion was prohibited. The majority of the 5000 Catholic faithful either escaped the country or were imprisoned in Soviet prison camps. They arrested Bishop Profittlich who subsequently died in a Soviet prison in Siberia in 1942 after being sentenced to death as a Vatican spy. His cause for canonization as a

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...

has been opened. During the

occupation, all Estonia's

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 ...

churches were closed and the Catholic population of Estonia decreased below 100 adherents and 1 underground priest who were all heavily persecuted by the KGB. Tartu Catholic Church

After the collapse of the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

, Estonia regained its independence and was re-recognized by the

on 28 August 1991.

received its first papal visit when

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

visited the country in September 1993.

Current state of Catholicism in Estonia

The

population of

is small, but has seen a rapid increase since the end of the Soviet rule. Currently the whole country has approximately 6,000 adherents. Most are of Estonian background but also many

Lithuanians Lithuanians ( lt, lietuviai) are a Baltic ethnic group. They are native to Lithuania, where they number around 2,378,118 people. Another million or two make up the Lithuanian diaspora, largely found in countries such as the United States, Uni ...

and

Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, who share a common history, culture, the Polish language and are identified with the country of Poland in Ce ...

. Most live in the major towns such as

, and

Narva Narva, russian: Нарва is a municipality and city in Estonia. It is located in Ida-Viru County, Ida-Viru county, at the Extreme points of Estonia, eastern extreme point of Estonia, on the west bank of the Narva (river), Narva river which ...

. Estonia has no

dioceses In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associat ...

. Instead, the whole country forms an

apostolic administration An Apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese (a stable 'pre-diocesan', usually missionary apostolic admi ...

. Since 2005, the Apostolic Administrator of Estonia who resides in Tallinn is Bishop

Philippe Jean-Charles Jourdan Philippe Jean-Charles Jourdan (born 30 August 1960) is a prelate of the Catholic Church who has been Apostolic Administrator of Estonia since 2005. Biography Philippe Jourdan was born in Dax, France, on 30 August 1960. His family is of Basque o ...

. Two parishes in Estonia (Tallinn and Tartu) are of the Greek Catholic Church and serve a mostly Ukrainian congregation. http://ugcc.ee/en/

References

External links

Homepage of the Catholic Church in Estonia

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20061213051610/http://www.estonica.org/eng/lugu.html?menyy_id=101&kateg=41&nimi=&alam=56&tekst_id=130 Religion in Estonia: web encyclopedia Estonica
Apostolic Administration of Estonia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Catholicism In Estonia

History of Catholicism in Estonia

Current state of Catholicism in Estonia

See also

References

External links