Pope salutes young Church reborn after Soviet occupation

In a letter to the young Catholic Church in Estonia, reborn after the Protestant Reformation and the Soviet regime, Francis praises their courage and resilience.

To mark the 100th anniversary of the creation of the Apostolic Administration of Estonia in 1924, Pope Francis sent a letter to Estonian Catholics on November 3, 2024. In it, he hails “a century of steadfast fidelity to the Catholic faith.” It’s a sign of encouragement for this Church of 6,500 faithful, reborn after the Soviet occupation.

Pius XI established the Apostolic Administration of Estonia in 1924. Pope Francis elevated this provisional structure, which Pius XI created in the expectation that the local Church would become stable and autonomous, to the rank of diocese — the country’s first and only diocese in modern times — on September 26.

A message of encouragement and “spiritual closeness”

In his message addressed to the 15 or so priests, 20 or so nuns, and lay faithful in the country, the Pontiff expresses his “spiritual closeness” to this “small but vibrant” Church. He pays tribute to the “unwavering hope and trust in the Lord” they showed “through decades of suffering, occupation, and oppression.”

Under the Lutheran Reformation and then the Soviet regime, the Catholic Church in Estonia disappeared for centuries before being reborn. “It’s one of the youngest in Europe … it’s a land where the Catholic Church must spread,” the bishop of the diocese of Tallinn, France’s Philippe Jourdan, told I.MEDIA.

Pope Francis praises the example of the “courageous and resilient” Estonian Catholics of the last century. He mentions in particular the figure of German Jesuit Archbishop Eduard Profittlich (1890-1942). He was the first bishop of Tallinn after the Reformation, and died a martyr in the Soviet concentration camp of Kirov. His beatification process is currently underway.

Referring to “the context of today’s war in Europe, which is a source of deep anxiety and tragically echoes the darker moments of yesteryears,” the Pope urges Catholics “to build a society rooted in peace, justice, solidarity, and the dignity of every human person.”

He urges young people to be involved in the country’s “spiritual renewal.”

Finally, the Pontiff evokes his “fond memories” of his apostolic journey to their country in 2018. He visited Tallinn as part of his trip to the Baltic States.