杏MAP导航

By Devin Watkins

Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, Archbishop Emeritus of Vienna, celebrates the Beatification Mass for Archbishop Eduard Profittlich, SJ, (1890-1942) on Saturday, September 6, 2025, in Tallinn, Estonia.

The tiny Catholic community in the Baltic nation has waited eagerly for this landmark event for years, as the former Apostolic Administrator of Estonia’s cause for canonization wound its way through the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints. Originally scheduled for May 17, 2025, the beatification was postponed after the death of 杏MAP导航 Francis and the election of 杏MAP导航 Leo XIV on May 8.

Now, Estonian Catholics will see their hopes realized as the first beatification takes place in Lutheran-majority Nordic Europe in around 400 years, according to Bishop Philippe Jourdan, Bishop of the Diocese of Tallinn. ()

Saints: Once a cause for division, now a hope for unity

Speaking to Vatican News, Bishop Jourdan pointed out that the saints divided Christians after the Reformation, since Protestants rejected the notion of asking them to intercede for us before God.

However, the saints now have the potential to unite Christians once again, said the French-born Bishop, pointing to the great interest shown in Archbishop Profittlich from civil society and Lutheran leaders in Estonia.

“I would say that especially in a non-Catholic country, it's very important to have its own Blessed or Saint,” said Bishop Jourdan. “It's not a matter of prestige or showing that we are better than the others, but rather because it’s really the credibility of the Catholic Church, since we preach Jesus Christ and we also seek to live in holiness.”

If the Church always preached holiness of life but had no examples of people who truly lived holiness, then it would be a sign that the Church cannot succeed in bringing people to God, noted the Bishop. His beatification shows that living a holy life is both possible and desirable.

“Archbishop Profittlich was the first priest to learn the Estonian language very well and preach and write in Estonian, at a time when Catholics in the country were mainly German and Polish,” said Bishop Jourdan, adding that his learning and openness to everyone raised the status of Catholicism in civil society.

Estonian by blood he offered for Christ and his flock

Archbishop Eduard Profittlich was born in Germany, studied as a Jesuit in Poland, and served as Apostolic Administrator to Estonia from 1931 until 1942.

Soviet Union authorities arrested the Archbishop a year after invading Estonia, and he was deported to a prison in Siberia and sentenced to death. Archbishop Profittlich died from exposure in Kirov prison on February 22, 1942 before his sentence could be carried out.

After the Soviet invasion of Estonia, he had the opportunity to return to Germany to escape probable imprisonment but wrote to 杏MAP导航 Pius XII asking for his guidance. The 杏MAP导航 responded that Archbishop Profittlich should do whatever he thought would help the Estonian Catholic Church the most, confirming Profittlich’s decision to stay and help the Church in Estonia no matter the consequences.

“He decided to really share the tragic destiny of tens of thousands of Estonians who were deported and died in the concentration camps of the Soviet Union,” said Bishop Jourdan. “We could say that he was an Estonian not because of the blood he received but because of the blood he gave.”

Archbishop Profittlich and a memorial plaque in Sts. Peter and Paul Church in Tallinn

Holiness of a life lived in service to others, fidelity to Christ

Delegations are expected to attend the Mass on Saturday from the Catholic communities in nearby Finland, Sweden, and Latvia, as well as from Germany, including members of Archbishop Profittlich’s family.

Marge-Marie Paas, Communications Director of the Diocese of Tallinn and diocesan postulator for Profittlich’s cause, said many people are excited to witness the beatification of a man who loved his adopted Estonia deeply and gave his life in martyrdom for Estonians.

“Lutheran, Baptist, and Orthodox faithful would like to be present and share our joy at the beatification Mass, along with government ministers,” said Ms. Paas. “They are coming to walk with Catholics and to reflect with us on the meaning of ‘Faith and Peace,’ which was Archbishop Profittlich’s apostolic motto.”

The soon-to-be Blessed’s family members are also bringing Profittlich’s last letter to their ancestors, which will be presented as a relic during the beatification Mass.

“Profittlich reminds us of the concrete nature of holiness,” said Ms. Paas. “He lived in service to others, and he was faithful to Christ, even at the greatest cost of his life in martyrdom.”