VATICAN CITY / TALLINN, ESTONIA — Once known as one of the most secular nations in Europe, Estonia is quietly witnessing a renewal of faith. The country’s small but growing Catholic community has been inspired by the witness of its first blessed — Blessed Eduard Profittlich — a German-born priest who gave his life for the Church during the Soviet occupation.

Born in Germany, Profittlich served as Apostolic Administrator of Estonia, ministering to Catholics across the Baltic nation. When Soviet forces occupied Estonia, he refused to abandon his flock, declaring that a shepherd must share the fate of his people. His courage led to his arrest and imprisonment in a Soviet prison, where he died in 1942.

On October 24, an Estonian delegation visited the Vatican for a private audience with Pope Leo XIV, carrying with them the memory and legacy of Blessed Profittlich. The meeting was both a moment of faith and a symbol of national unity.

Archbishop Philippe Jean-Charles Jourdan of the Diocese of Tallinn, led the group and recalled one of the most moving moments of their encounter with the Holy Father:

“He spoke also about ecumenism, because there was among us also a strong group of people who are in great part Lutherans, and some of them without religion, but people who helped for the organization of the beatification of the Archbishop Profittlich. And so the Pope said: ‘Your ecumenical relation is the best medicine against hatred.’”

The Pope’s words reflected a deep truth for Estonia, where history has long been marked by division between Catholics and Lutherans. Today, however, that division appears to be transforming into dialogue and shared purpose.

Bishop Jourdan explained that the life and death of Blessed Profittlich have become a unifying force among Christians. “The saints divided us in the time of the Lutheran Reformation, the 16th century, and now really, I feel that the saints have the potential to unite again Catholics and Lutherans,” he said. “And then the fact also that Profittlich, by the way he died, is a symbol. In every family, they were victims like that. Not everybody for the name of Christ, but it’s a symbol of the trauma suffered by the Estonian people in the Soviet time. And not only Estonians, but also the Russians living in Estonia.”

In a country where religion was once suppressed, faith is finding new ground. According to the national census, the share of Catholics in Estonia has doubled in a decade, rising from 0.4% in 2011 to 0.8% in 2021.

Bishop Jourdan believes that this growth must be accompanied by deeper formation and pastoral care. “You can have a lot of people who have to be baptized and thanks to God, I think that in Northern Europe now there are many young people coming for baptism,” he explained. “But if you don’t form them, it’s like, you know, putting seeds, but without water, without soil, it doesn’t really grow up. But in the case of Estonia, it’s a vital necessity. Because there are no traditional Catholics in our country, and so it’s a work with each one of them.”

From the prisons of the Soviet era to the pews of modern Tallinn, the legacy of Blessed Eduard Profittlich continues to bear fruit. His witness reminds Estonians — Catholic, Lutheran, and non-believer alike — that faith can survive even the harshest persecution and become the seed of a new unity.

As Bishop Jourdan and the faithful of Estonia look to the future, the words of Pope Leo XIV echo as both a challenge and a promise: “Your ecumenical relation is the best medicine against hatred.”

Adapted by Jacob Stein. Produced by Alexey Gotovskiy; Camera by Alberto Basile; Video Edited by Andrea Manna