Catholicism in Estonia

Christianity began to penetrate into the territory of modern Estonia in the XI century ^[3] , this is confirmed by both archaeological and written evidence. So, in about 1070, the Archbishop of Bremen appointed Esthos and Finns as bishop ^[4] . At the beginning of the XIII century, the territory of modern Estonia was conquered by the Danish and German crusaders, followed by the violent Christianization of Estonians, which ended in 1227 ^[5]

In the first half of the sixteenth century in the territory of modern Estonia, the Reformation movement became widespread, and the influence of Catholicism began to fade. In the second half of the 16th century, almost all of Estonia was conquered by the Swedes , after which Catholicism was completely banned, and Lutheran became the official church. In 1559–1645, Catholicism in the territory of modern Estonia existed only in the southern region, then belonging to the Catholic Commonwealth . ^[five]

Since 1710, as a result of the Northern War, Estonia has been ruled by the Russian Empire . After the accession of the Estonian lands to the Russian Empire, Peter I restored the rights of the German aristocracy that it lost under Swedish rule, including freedom of conscience . At the end of the 18th century, there were about 300 Catholics in Estonia, mainly among the German nobility ^[6] . The XIX century was a period of relative revival of the Catholic faith in Estonia, in 1845 the church in Tallinn was consecrated, in 1899 in Tartu . In 1905, Nicholas II signed the Manifesto of Tolerance, noticeably simplifying the opening of Catholic churches in the Russian Empire; already at the beginning of the 20th century, Catholic parishes in Valga and Narva were created.

After gaining independence in 1918, the state guaranteed freedom of conscience to citizens. The Holy See recognized Estonia on October 10, 1921 . In 1924, 2535 Catholics lived in Estonia, grouped in 3 parishes: in Revel (983 people), in Narva (269 people, they were fed by the Revel priest) and in Tartu (218 people, the local priest also fed 70 Catholics of Valga ) ^[7] . In 1933, relations were established between Estonia and the Vatican: the Vatican’s Charge d'Affaires in Estonia in combination became Antonio Arata nunts in Lithuania (since July 1935, the nuncio), and Otto Strandman, Estonian ambassador to the Vatican ^[8] . In 1924, the Estonian Apostolic Administration was formed. From 1931 to 1942 it was headed by Eduard Profitlich . In 1936, he became the first ever Estonian Catholic bishop . Eduard Profitlich died in 1942 in prison in a Soviet prison; currently, a process is underway to rank him blessed . In 1932, Profitlich opened a boarding school for the training of priests ^[9] . In 1936, Catholicism was taught in five schools in Tallinn and in two schools in Pärnu ^[10] .

By the time Estonia was annexed to the USSR in 1940, there were about 5 thousand Catholics in the country. In the Soviet period, the Catholic Church in Estonia was subjected to repression as well as other religious movements, all but two churches were closed, many priests went through prisons and camps.

After the collapse of the USSR and the restoration of Estonia’s independence on August 28, 1991, diplomatic relations between the Republic of Estonia and the Holy See were re-established. In 1993, the country was visited by Pope John Paul II ^[6] .

On September 25, 2018, Pope Francis paid a visit to Estonia. The head of the Catholic Church in Tallinn's Freedom Square celebrated a mass , about 12,000 people registered for participation in it ^[11] .

The Catholic Church in Estonia is organized into the Apostolic Administration of Estonia . As of 2008, there were 5,745 Catholics, 14 priests , 4 monks (one Franciscan and three Dominicans , 2 of them hieromonks ), 20 nuns and 9 parishes in the country ^[2] . Since April 1, 2005, the Apostolic Administration has been headed by Philippe Jean-Charles Jourdan . The cathedral of the Estonian Apostolic Administration is the Church of Saints Peter and Paul in Tallinn.

According to the 2000 census, Estonian Catholics were divided by nationality as follows: Estonians - 1736, Poles - 867, Belarusians - 831, Lithuanians - 749, Russians - 713, Ukrainians - 290, Latvians - 182, Finns - 77, Germans - 73, and others - 227 ^[12] .

Catholic parishes exist in Tallinn , Tartu , Pärnu , Valga , Akhtme , Narva , Sillamae , Rakvere and Kiviõli ^[13] . Tallinn also has the only Greek Catholic parish in the country, administratively belonging to the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church .

The most famous Catholic building in the country is the Monastery of St. Birgitta , built in 1407 and destroyed during the Livonian War by Russian troops in the 16th century. In 2001, a new monastery building was built near the ruins of an ancient monastery, where 8 brigitte nuns currently live.

• Official website of the Catholic Church in Estonia
• Statistics of the Catholic Church in Estonia at gcatholic.org
• Statistics of the Catholic Church in Estonia at catholic-hierarchy.org
• Estonia and Vatican
• Ringo Ringvee. Catholic Church in Estonia