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 1989 Travels of Pope John Paul II to Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark Scott C89 (1990) The country of Denmark has been the focus of news reports over the last few weeks, with lots of attention on the island of Greenland. But over the weekend it made headlines for a different reason. On Sunday, January 25, the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, represented Pope Leo XIV as his papal legate for celebrations in Copenhagen to mark the 1200th anniversary of the beginning of the Christian mission in Denmark. It is appropriate that these ceremonies, honoring the early evangelization efforts in Denmark, should fall on January 25, 2026, the Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul, the earliest Christian evangelist. The celebration took take place at St. Ansgar’s Cathedral in Copenhagen. The earliest Christian missionary efforts to Denmark occurred around 710 by the English missionary Saint Willibrord, whose work yielded limited results. In 826, exiled Danish king Harald Klak was baptized at Ingelheim (in an effort to gain Frankish support against his rivals). This was the first recorded baptism of a Danish ruler. Along with a Benedictine monk, Saint Ansgar, Harald returned to Denmark to promote Christianity. His efforts were thwarted by local chieftains in 827, but Saint Ansgar persisted in his efforts with northern evangelization. By around 830, he had extended his activities to southern Jutland and to Denmark's trading hubs. And, by around 850, under King Horik I, he secured permission to establish preaching stations and churches in Hedeby (Haithabu) and Ribe.  "Ansgar" by Siegfried Detlev Bendixen (1826) From Wikimedia Commons, in the Public Domain Today, Saint Ansgar is remembered as the Patron Saint of Denmark. Born in 801, he came to be known as the "Apostle of the North" and also served as Archbishop of Hamburg-Bremen. He died on February 3, 865, which serves as his feast day. Following the Protestant Reformation, Lutheranism replaced Roman Catholicism as the primary form of Christian worship in Denmark. Today, its official religion is the Evangelical Lutheran Church (Folkekirken). Following World War II and continuing to the present day, secularism has led to a reduction in active church participation. Denmark has a small Catholic population (less than 50,000 people), but since 2017 Catholicism has surged by about 25%. To date, the only papal visit to Denmark was made by Pope John Paul II on June 6-7, 1989, as part of a five-country Nordic tour. That visit was commemorated on the stamp shown at the top of the page (Scott C89, from 1990). REFERENCES: |
