Normally, when one thinks of Scandinavia, the Catholic church is not the first thing to come to mind. There are a number of reasons for this. First, Christianity in any form came to the region rather late, at least in European terms. Second, since the Reformation, Protestants have overwhelmingly outnumbered Catholics in the region. Third, the region has a reputation for hyper-secularity in the contemporary world.
Yet in 2012, Pope Benedict XVI highlighted the growth of Catholicism in places like Norway in his address to the Synod of Bishops. Sweden, too, has seen an influx of Catholics in recent years, largely from immigration (even from displaced Chaldean Catholic Iraqis). Vocations to the priesthood, while not exactly flourishing when examined in sheer gross numbers, are statistically well above much of Europe in terms of Catholics per capita. And, for good or for ill, there has been a minority backlash in pockets of what are indisputably some of the world’s most culturally liberal nations.
Christianity was originally brought to the region in the 800’s AD by a canonized missionary named St. Ansgar. Though the namesake for a town in Iowa and for Ansgarius, a lunar crater on the moon visible from earth, he is probably not as familiar to most Catholics as St. Joseph or St. Francis. (If perhaps someone in Swedesboro has a St. Ansgar birdbath, I apologize). And yet this patron saint whose name means “spear of God” – and is perhaps related to the English name Oscar – has a history and life of faith worth exploring.
Born and trained as a Benedictine in France, Ansgar risked dangerous traveling conditions, pirate marauders, and hostility from the Viking leaders on his icy trek to spread the faith through present-day Northern Germany, Denmark and Sweden. His work earned him the honorific title “Apostle to the North.”
Ansgar liaised with rulers of the time, both secular such as Charlemagne’s son Louis the Pious and grandson Louis II, and ecclesiastical such as Popes Gregory IV and Nicholas I. His pupil, co-worker, successor, and eventual biographer, Rimbert of Flanders, was also eventually canonized. The latter is still particularly revered in the Friesland region of the Netherlands.
Ansgar was reputedly incredibly humble and self-effacing, as well as dedicated to the poor and infirmed in the areas in which he ministered. Perhaps the quality most striking about him is his resilience. As if missionary work itself were not hard enough, he eventually saw all of his labors and progress reduced to ashes after an invasion of Hamburg. Dusting himself off and trusting in providence, he redoubled his efforts at catechizing those in his immediate vicinity and beyond. His life serves as a lesson in perseverance, even when our work seems fruitless or ineffectual.
Angsar eventually died peacefully in Germany, escaping the martyr’s death he had envisioned and welcomed. His feast day is celebrated on Feb. 3. He is the patron of both Scandinavia as a whole and the Archdiocese of Hamburg-Bremen, Germany’s largest in area.
Michael M. Canaris, Ph.D., of Collingswood, is a Research Associate at Durham University’s Centre for Catholic Studies in Northeast England.
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