Roman Catholicism in Norway
Encyclopedia
Roman Catholicism in Norway is part of the worldwide Catholic Church
, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope
, the Curia
in Rome
and the Scandinavian Bishops Conference.
There are about 83,000 - 230,000 Catholics in the country, 70% of whom were born abroad. The country is divided into three Church districts – the Diocese of Oslo
and the prelatures of Trondheim
and Tromsø and 32 parishes. In the 1990s, Islam passed the Catholic Church in Norway, and in the beginning of the 2000s, the Catholic Church passed the Pentecostals in Norway. Since that time, the Catholic Church has been the third largest religion in Norway and it is represented with 1.7 - 4.7 % of the population.
In addition, four religious orders have returned to Norway: the Cistercians, Dominicans, the Poor Clares, and the Trappistines. In 2009, monks from the Abbey of Citeaux dedicated a new monastery in Norway, naming it Munkeby Mariakloster. Trappistine nuns, likewise, bought land near the ruins of a pre-Reformation monastery on the island of Tautra in the Trondheim Fjord, moved to the site and built a new cloister, workplace, guesthouse and chapel, calling the new monastery, Tautra Mariakloster.
The Bishop of Oslo participates in the Scandinavian Bishops Conference
.
monarchs, Haakon I
from 934.
The country is considered to have officially converted upon the death of the king St. Olav
at the Battle of Stiklestad
in 1030.
The subsequent Christianisation took several hundred years. Largely the work of Anglo-Saxon
missionaries, the Norwegian Church has been considered the only daughter of English Catholicism. Cardinal Nicholas Breakspear, later Pope Adrian IV, established a church province in 1152, the archdiocese of Nidaros
(Trondheim
). The prosperous years of the High Middle Ages were followed by decline for Church and nation alike, although Norwegian Catholicism retained much of its vitality.
lasted from 1526 to 1536. Catholic Church property and Catholic priests' personal properties were confiscated by the Crown. Catholic priests were exiled and imprisoned unless they submitted to conversion to the Danish king
's faith
. Bishop Jon Arason of Holar, executed in 1550, was the last Catholic bishop of Iceland (until the establishment of the Diocese of Reykjavik
in 1923). The Bishop of Hamar
from 1513 to 1537, Mogens Lauritsson, was imprisoned until his death in 1542.
Many traditions from the Catholic Middle Ages continued for centuries more. In the late 18th century and into the 19th century, a strict and puritan interpretation of the Lutheran faith, inspired by the preacher Hans Nielsen Hauge
, spread through Norway, and popular religious practices turned more purely Lutheran.
The Catholic Church per se, however, was not allowed to operate in Norway between 1537 and 1843, and throughout most of this period, Catholic priests faced execution. In the late 16th century, a few incidents of crypto-Catholicism occurred within the Church of Norway
. The Roman Catholic faith survived in remote parts of the Kingdom until approximately 1700. Christiania (Oslo
) had an illegal but tolerated Catholic congregation in the 1790s. In 1843 the Norwegian Parliament passed a religious tolerance act providing for limited religious freedom and allowing for legal non-Lutheran public religious services for the first time since the Reformation
.
was established in the capital in 1843; a few years later Catholic places of worship were opened in Alta (Finnmark), Tromsø and Bergen.
In 1897, the constitutional
ban on religious order
s was lifted, which in time led to the establishment of several communities and monasteries.
In 1956, the final constitutional restriction on Catholics was lifted when Jesuits
were allowed to enter the country for the first time since the Reformation, though it is known that at least one Jesuit - Xavier Rénom de la Baume - was killed in action with French Alpine forces during the Battles of Narvik
.
Religious sisters working in hospitals and schools did much to overcome popular suspicions about Catholics. Sigrid Undset
, a Catholic convert, and the Rev. Hallvard Rieber-Mohn, O.P., also contributed to this. Protestants and Catholics were brought closer together in firm opposition to the Quisling
regime during the German occupation
(1940–1945).
. Around the country, the local congregations consisted of a few families each. However, with increased immigration from the 1960s onwards, the Catholic Church grew quickly.
At first, the immigrants came from Germany
, The Netherlands, and France
. Immigration from Chile
, the Philippines
, and from a wide range of other countries began in the 1970s. This development has further increased in the last few years with economic immigrants from Poland
and Lithuania
. The official number of Catholics, however, decreased slightly in 2004. This is because the Norwegian state demands a person's social security number (fødsels-og personnummer) in order to grant the per capita subsidy. The real number of Roman Catholics in Norway is possibly as much as twice the official number of 50,000. Ethnic Norwegian Catholics are now greatly outnumbered by the immigrants, although the former tend to be far more observant and conservative, being a self-selected group largely of ex-Lutheran converts. (On the other hand, Chileans, for example, who were mostly Marxist or secular humanist refugees who fled Pinochet's regime, tend to identify as Catholic solely when asked their religion, but few actually practice.) Catholic Church statistics from 2004 indicate that roughly 40% of Catholics (just under 20,000) are Norwegian-born (although a large fraction of these are undoubtedly of immigrant background), with the largest foreign groups being Filipinos, Vietnamese, Poles, Chileans, and Sri Lankans.
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...
, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope
Pope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
, the Curia
Roman Curia
The Roman Curia is the administrative apparatus of the Holy See and the central governing body of the entire Catholic Church, together with the Pope...
in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
and the Scandinavian Bishops Conference.
There are about 83,000 - 230,000 Catholics in the country, 70% of whom were born abroad. The country is divided into three Church districts – the Diocese of Oslo
Roman Catholic Diocese of Oslo
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Oslo is an exempt diocese located in the city of Oslo in Norway.-History:* 1070?: Established as Diocese of Oslo* 1537: Suppressed...
and the prelatures of Trondheim
Roman Catholic Territorial Prelature of Trondheim
Trondheim, Norway is the seat of the Roman Catholic Territorial Prelature of Trondheim, which before March 1979 was the Apostolic Vicariate of Central Norway. The prelature leadership is currently vacant following the resignation of Bishop Georg Müller in 2009 and is being administered by Bernt...
and Tromsø and 32 parishes. In the 1990s, Islam passed the Catholic Church in Norway, and in the beginning of the 2000s, the Catholic Church passed the Pentecostals in Norway. Since that time, the Catholic Church has been the third largest religion in Norway and it is represented with 1.7 - 4.7 % of the population.
In addition, four religious orders have returned to Norway: the Cistercians, Dominicans, the Poor Clares, and the Trappistines. In 2009, monks from the Abbey of Citeaux dedicated a new monastery in Norway, naming it Munkeby Mariakloster. Trappistine nuns, likewise, bought land near the ruins of a pre-Reformation monastery on the island of Tautra in the Trondheim Fjord, moved to the site and built a new cloister, workplace, guesthouse and chapel, calling the new monastery, Tautra Mariakloster.
The Bishop of Oslo participates in the Scandinavian Bishops Conference
Scandinavian Bishops Conference
The Scandinavian Bishops Conference is an episcopal conference of Roman Catholic bishops covering the Nordic countries of Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark and Iceland. At present, it has 12 members who represent all seven of the Catholic dioceses in the Nordic countries...
.
Origin
The Catholic Church in Norway is as old as the kingdom itself, dating from approximately 900 A.D., with the first ChristianChristian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
monarchs, Haakon I
Haakon I of Norway
Haakon I , , given the byname the Good, was the third king of Norway and the youngest son of Harald Fairhair and Thora Mosterstang.-Early life:...
from 934.
The country is considered to have officially converted upon the death of the king St. Olav
Olaf II of Norway
Olaf II Haraldsson was King of Norway from 1015 to 1028. He was posthumously given the title Rex Perpetuus Norvegiae and canonised in Nidaros by Bishop Grimkell, one year after his death in the Battle of Stiklestad on 29 July 1030. Enshrined in Nidaros Cathedral...
at the Battle of Stiklestad
Battle of Stiklestad
The Battle of Stiklestad in 1030 is one of the most famous battles in the history of Norway. In this battle, King Olaf II of Norway was killed. He was later canonized...
in 1030.
The subsequent Christianisation took several hundred years. Largely the work of Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxons
Anglo-Saxon is a term used by historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Great Britain beginning in the early 5th century AD, and the period from their creation of the English nation to the Norman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Era denotes the period of...
missionaries, the Norwegian Church has been considered the only daughter of English Catholicism. Cardinal Nicholas Breakspear, later Pope Adrian IV, established a church province in 1152, the archdiocese of Nidaros
Archdiocese of Nidaros
The Archdiocese of Nidaros was the metropolitan see covering Norway in the later Middle Ages. The see was the Nidaros Cathedral, in the city of Nidaros...
(Trondheim
Trondheim
Trondheim , historically, Nidaros and Trondhjem, is a city and municipality in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. With a population of 173,486, it is the third most populous municipality and city in the country, although the fourth largest metropolitan area. It is the administrative centre of...
). The prosperous years of the High Middle Ages were followed by decline for Church and nation alike, although Norwegian Catholicism retained much of its vitality.
Reformation
The Lutheran ReformationProtestant 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...
lasted from 1526 to 1536. Catholic Church property and Catholic priests' personal properties were confiscated by the Crown. Catholic priests were exiled and imprisoned unless they submitted to conversion to the Danish king
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:...
's faith
Lutheranism
Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German reformer. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation...
. Bishop Jon Arason of Holar, executed in 1550, was the last Catholic bishop of Iceland (until the establishment of the Diocese of Reykjavik
Diocese of Reykjavík
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Reykjavík is a diocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church which covers the whole of the country of Iceland, which had 10,207 Catholics on January 1, 2011...
in 1923). The Bishop of Hamar
Ancient Diocese of Hamar
The former Norwegian Catholic diocese of Hamar existed from 1152 to the Protestant Reformation. The see was at Hamar, and the diocese included the counties of Hedmark , Oppland , and the middle part of Buskerud The former Norwegian Catholic diocese of Hamar existed from 1152 to the Protestant...
from 1513 to 1537, Mogens Lauritsson, was imprisoned until his death in 1542.
Many traditions from the Catholic Middle Ages continued for centuries more. In the late 18th century and into the 19th century, a strict and puritan interpretation of the Lutheran faith, inspired by the preacher Hans Nielsen Hauge
Hans Nielsen Hauge
Hans Nielsen Hauge was a noted revivalist Norwegian lay minister who spoke up against the Church establishment in Norway. Hauge is considered an influential personality in the industrialization of Norway...
, spread through Norway, and popular religious practices turned more purely Lutheran.
The Catholic Church per se, however, was not allowed to operate in Norway between 1537 and 1843, and throughout most of this period, Catholic priests faced execution. In the late 16th century, a few incidents of crypto-Catholicism occurred within the Church of Norway
Church of Norway
The Church of Norway is the state church of Norway, established after the Lutheran reformation in Denmark-Norway in 1536-1537 broke the ties to the Holy See. The church confesses the Lutheran Christian faith...
. The Roman Catholic faith survived in remote parts of the Kingdom until approximately 1700. Christiania (Oslo
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
) had an illegal but tolerated Catholic congregation in the 1790s. In 1843 the Norwegian Parliament passed a religious tolerance act providing for limited religious freedom and allowing for legal non-Lutheran public religious services for the first time since the Reformation
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...
.
Legalization
The first parish after the ReformationProtestant 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...
was established in the capital in 1843; a few years later Catholic places of worship were opened in Alta (Finnmark), Tromsø and Bergen.
In 1897, the constitutional
Constitution of Norway
The Constitution of Norway was first adopted on May 16, 1814 by the Norwegian Constituent Assembly at Eidsvoll , then signed and dated May 17...
ban on religious order
Religious order
A religious order is a lineage of communities and organizations of people who live in some way set apart from society in accordance with their specific religious devotion, usually characterized by the principles of its founder's religious practice. The order is composed of initiates and, in some...
s was lifted, which in time led to the establishment of several communities and monasteries.
In 1956, the final constitutional restriction on Catholics was lifted when Jesuits
Society of Jesus
The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...
were allowed to enter the country for the first time since the Reformation, though it is known that at least one Jesuit - Xavier Rénom de la Baume - was killed in action with French Alpine forces during the Battles of Narvik
Battles of Narvik
The Battles of Narvik were fought from 9 April-8 June 1940 as a naval battle in the Ofotfjord and as a land battle in the mountains surrounding the north Norwegian city of Narvik as part of the Norwegian Campaign of the Second World War....
.
Religious sisters working in hospitals and schools did much to overcome popular suspicions about Catholics. Sigrid Undset
Sigrid Undset
Sigrid Undset was a Norwegian novelist who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1928.-Biography:Undset was born in Kalundborg, Denmark, but her family moved to Norway when she was two years old. In 1924, she converted to Catholicism and became a lay Dominican...
, a Catholic convert, and the Rev. Hallvard Rieber-Mohn, O.P., also contributed to this. Protestants and Catholics were brought closer together in firm opposition to the Quisling
Quisling
Quisling is a term used in reference to fascist and collaborationist political parties and military and paramilitary forces in occupied Allied countries which collaborated with Axis occupiers in World War II, as well as for their members and other collaborators.- Etymology :The term was coined by...
regime during the German occupation
Occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany
The occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany started with the German invasion of Norway on April 9, 1940, and ended on May 8, 1945, after the capitulation of German forces in Europe. Throughout this period, Norway was continuously occupied by the Wehrmacht...
(1940–1945).
Catholic immigrants
The Catholic Church remained very much a minority church of a few thousand people right up to the decades following World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Around the country, the local congregations consisted of a few families each. However, with increased immigration from the 1960s onwards, the Catholic Church grew quickly.
At first, the immigrants came from Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, The Netherlands, and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. Immigration from Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
, the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, and from a wide range of other countries began in the 1970s. This development has further increased in the last few years with economic immigrants from Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
and Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
. The official number of Catholics, however, decreased slightly in 2004. This is because the Norwegian state demands a person's social security number (fødsels-og personnummer) in order to grant the per capita subsidy. The real number of Roman Catholics in Norway is possibly as much as twice the official number of 50,000. Ethnic Norwegian Catholics are now greatly outnumbered by the immigrants, although the former tend to be far more observant and conservative, being a self-selected group largely of ex-Lutheran converts. (On the other hand, Chileans, for example, who were mostly Marxist or secular humanist refugees who fled Pinochet's regime, tend to identify as Catholic solely when asked their religion, but few actually practice.) Catholic Church statistics from 2004
| Year | Members | Percent |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 9,366 | 0.24% |
| 1980 | 13,923 | 0.34% |
| 1990 | 26,580 | 0.62% |
| 2000 | 42,598 | 0.98% |
| 2010 | 83,116 | 1.71% |
| Municipality | Catholics (2003) | Percent | Catholics (2004) | Percent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 OsloOslo Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King... |
14,908 | 2.8% | 13,300 | 2.5% |
 BergenBergen Bergen is the second largest city in Norway with a population of as of , . Bergen is the administrative centre of Hordaland county. Greater Bergen or Bergen Metropolitan Area as defined by Statistics Norway, has a population of as of , .... |
3,873 | 1.6% | 4,044 | 1.7% |
 BærumBærum is a municipality in Akershus county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Sandvika. Bærum was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838. A suburb of Oslo, Bærum is located on the west coast of the city.... |
1,816 | 1.7% | 1,666 | 1.6% |
 StavangerStavanger Stavanger is a city and municipality in the county of Rogaland, Norway.Stavanger municipality has a population of 126,469. There are 197,852 people living in the Stavanger conurbation, making Stavanger the fourth largest city, but the third largest urban area, in Norway... |
1,720 | 1.5% | 1,568 | 1.3% |
 TrondheimTrondheim Trondheim , historically, Nidaros and Trondhjem, is a city and municipality in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. With a population of 173,486, it is the third most populous municipality and city in the country, although the fourth largest metropolitan area. It is the administrative centre of... |
1,434 | 0.9% | 1,416 | 0.9% |
 KristiansandKristiansand -History:As indicated by archeological findings in the city, the Kristiansand area has been settled at least since 400 AD. A royal farm is known to have been situated on Oddernes as early as 800, and the first church was built around 1040... |
1,251 | 1.6% | 1,150 | 1.5% |