Europe’s 1st cathedral in a decade inaugurated in Norway

COPENHAGEN – Norway’s Roman Catholics have inaugurated a new cathedral — the first in Europe in a decade officials say — as the predominantly Lutheran country sees the number of Catholics swell mainly because of immigration, chiefly from Poland and the Philippines.

Saturday’s Mass was attended by Pope Francis’ envoy, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor.

The 100-million kroner ($11.7 million) New Saint Olav cathedral sits in the prelature of Trondheim, 400 kilometres (243 miles) north of Oslo that has about 15,000 Catholics. The new 450-seat church was built on the site of the Saint Olav cathedral, which was falling apart.

With its 125,000 registered members, Norway has Scandinavia’s largest Catholic community. In 2015, Norway’s state Lutheran Church counted about 3.8 million members, about 73 per cent of the population.