Roman Catholic Territorial Prelature of Trondheim

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Trondheim, Norway (also known as Central Norway) is the seat of a Roman Catholic territorial prelate. It is led by a bishop, currently Georg Müller. The prelate includes parishes in Trondheim, Kristiansund, Levanger, Molde, and Ålesund.

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[edit] History

Since the Norwegian Reformation drove the Catholic archbishop out of the archdiocese of Nidaros in 1537, there were no indications of organized Catholic practice in Trondheim until 1844, when five residents asked the priest in Oslo to visit them, apparently to help one of their children prepare for a first communion.

In 1872, a Catholic parish was established in Trondheim, with French-born Claude Dumahut as the pastor. In 1875, the church bought property at Stiklestad in the hopes of building a chapel there to commemorate the martyrdom of St. Olav at the Battle of Stiklestad in 1030. Though the parish was founded, and continues to be led by clergy from the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, several monastic orders, among them Salesians, Sisters of St. Joseph, Order of St. Elisabeth, tried with mixed success to establish themselves in the area. A seminary was established in 1880, graduating a small group of priests 1885 that made the first pilgrimage to Stiklestad in hundreds of years.

Additional parishes were founded in Trondheim (Sacred Heart in 1881, and St. Olav in 1902; later merged as St. Olav), Molde (1923), and in 1930 the chapel at Stiklestad was complete in time for the 900th anniversary of the battle there.

In 1935, Central Norway became an apostolic prefecture[1]. During the occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany, the mostly German-born clergy in the area took part in the Norwegian resistance movement; one of them, Antonius Deutsch, was subsequently decorated by king Haakon VII.

In 1953, Central Norway was made an apostolic vicariate, and the first Catholic bishop was consecrated in Norway since the Reformation. In 1979, the jurisdiction became a prelature.

In 1989, Pope John Paul II visited Trondheim and held an ecumenical service in the Nidaros Cathedral and a Catholic mass at a nearby sports facility. In 1993, the Church of Norway authorized a full Catholic mass to be held in the Nidaros Cathedral, for the first time since the Reformation.

[edit] Leadership

[edit] Under the apostolic vicariate in Sweden (until 1868)

  • 1843–1868 - Laurentius J. Studach (resident in Sweden)

[edit] The apostolic prefecture in Norway (1869-1892)

[edit] The apostolic vicariate in Norway (1892-1931)

  • 1892–1922 - Johannes Olaf Fallize
  • 1922–1928 - Johannes Olav Smit
  • 1928–1930 - Olav Offerdahl
  • 1930–1931 - Henrik Irgens (apostolic administrator)

[edit] The missionary district of Central Norway (1931-1935)

  • 1931–1932 - Henrik Irgens (apostilic administrator)
  • 1932–1935 - Cyprian Witte SS.CC.

[edit] The apostolic prefecture Central Norway

  • 1935–1945 - Cyprian Witte SS.CC.
  • 1945–1953 - Antonius Deutsch SS.CC.

[edit] The apostolic vicariate Central Norway

  • 1953–1974 - Johannes Rüth SS.CC.
  • 1974–1979 - Gerhard Schwenzer SS.CC.

[edit] Trondheim prelature

  • 1979–1983 - Gerhard Schwenzer SS.CC.
  • 1983–1988 - Gerhard Schwenzer, administrator sede vacante
  • 1988–1997 - Georg Müller SS.CC., administrator sede vacante
  • 1997– - Georg Müller SS.CC., bishop-prelate

[edit] References

  1. ^ Chronology of Catholic Dioceses: Norway. Catholic Church, Norway (2000-07-19). Retrieved on 2006-12-28.

[edit] Sources

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Bishops and dioceses of Norway