Estonian bishop looks ahead
to Pope Francis’ visit
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| Archbishop Philippe Jourdan, Apostolic Administrator of Estonia. |
The head of Estonia’s Catholic Church says all Estonians are
awaiting the arrival of Pope Francis with great hope and joy, even those who do
not belong to any religion.
By Devin Watkins
“In Estonia, [Pope Francis] will meet with one of the
smallest Catholic communities he has ever met with, and in one of the least
religious countries of Europe.”
Bishop Philippe Jourdan, Apostolic Administrator of Estonia
and titular bishop of Pertusa, made the comment in an interview with Devin
Watkins about the Holy Father’s upcoming Apostolic Journey.
Pope Francis will visit Estonia on Tuesday, following his
journeys to Lithuania and Latvia.
Bishop Jourdan said the numeric smallness of the Catholic
community in Estonia means that it must live a particularly missionary
Christianity.
He said it is a little like “what the Pope means when he
says that the Church cannot just wait for the people and stay in its buildings
but has to go out” to meet them.
Pope Francis is living this out, Bishop Jourdan said, simply
by travelling to Estonia, which he said “is a country where there are few
Catholics.”
Ecumenical side to Pope’s visit
The Pope will hold an ecumenical meeting with young people
on Tuesday in Tallinn inside a Lutheran Church.
“All the non-Catholics and even the non-religious people,
who are the majority here, are expecting [the Pope’s arrival] with great hope
and joy,” Bishop Jourdan said.
He pointed out that this was the goal when the motto for the
Pope’s visit was chosen: “Wake Up, My Heart”. These, he said, are the first
words of a well-known song in Estonia.
25 years since JPII’s visit
Bishop Jourdan noted how the situation in Estonia has
changed during the 25 years since Pope St. John Paul II visited in 1993.
“Now, I would say that the country is much stronger and more
stable than it was 25 years ago, but there is also a lot of materialism, a lot
of secularization, and a certain skepticism towards the future,” he said.
Estonians, Bishop Jourdan said, are hoping Pope Francis’
presence will “help our heart wake up again.”
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