Marian Advocations of Sweden
Sweden, today mostly Lutheran, keeps the memory of its great medieval Marian heart: Vadstenathe abbey of Saint Brigida, the focus of devotion to Our Lady before the Reformation.
- Wonders and Marian Anecdotes of Sweden
- Vadstena - the abbey founded by Saint Brigid of Sweden It was the great Marian heart of the country before the Reformation, the cradle of the Order of the Most Holy Saviour and the goal of pilgrims from all Scandinavia.
Sweden
History of Marian devotion in Sweden
Sweden, a European country of Christian tradition, has a Marian history that reflects the vicissitudes of its national history. Devotion to the Virgin Mary has been a central element of popular piety, expressed in shrines, hermites and chapels that spatter its geography. Local Marian advocacy is a testimony to a faith that has accompanied the people through the centuries.
Although religious practice has decreased in the last decades, the Marian shrines of Sweden remain places of pilgrimage and spiritual encounter. The Virgin Mary is venerated under various advocacy that reflect both the Latin tradition and the cultural influences of the country.
Marian Advocations of Sweden
Our Lady of Vadstena
The Marian devotion linked to Vadstena was born in the 14th century around the figure of Saint Brigida of Sweden, founder of the Order of the Most Holy Saviour (Brigidines and Brigidins).
"Our Lady of Vadstena, pray for us.
Mary, Mother of the persecuted Christians (Kista, Stockholm)
Today's Catholic Sanctuary (21st century) of the Middle East Christian communities in Sweden.
Praise Mary, Mother of the persecuted Christians, pray for us.
The Virgin of the Lund Astronomical Clock
In the medieval astronomical clock of the cathedral, the Magi are inclined to the Virgin with the Child.
"The Virgin of Lund's Astronomical Watch, pray for us.
← Back to Marian Advocations of Sweden
The Marian pilgrimage in medieval and modern Sweden
Marian devotion in Sweden has its origin in the Middle Ages, when the country was evangelized by Irish and German missionaries between the 9th and 11th centuries. The first Swedish cathedral, in Skara (11th century), was dedicated to the Virgin Mary, establishing a pattern that was repeated in the cathedrals of Linköping, Uppsala and Lund. However, the heart of Swedish Marian spirituality was the monastery of Vadstena, founded by Saint Brigida of Sweden (1303-1373) on the banks of Lake Vättern. Vadstena became the main Marian pilgrimage center of Scandinavia, attracting faithful from all over the region who came to venerate the Virgin Mary under the title of Our Lady of Vadstena. The Revelations of Saint Brigida contain numerous Marian visions that deeply influenced European Marian theology and piety.
After the Lutheran Reformation of the 16th century, most of the churches dedicated to Mary were disacrated or transformed into Protestant temples, but Marian memory was not completely lost. In the 20th century, with the arrival of Catholic immigrants from Poland, Croatia, Latin America and the Middle East, the Catholic Church in Sweden experienced a rebirth. Today, Sweden has over 120,000 Catholics, organized in the diocese of Stockholm. The Catholic Cathedral of San Erica in Stockholm, although dedicated to the patron of Sweden, houses a Marian chapel where an image of Our Lady of Vadstena is venerated. The shrine of Mary, Mother of the persecuted Christians in Kista, is a testimony to the multicultural face of contemporary Swedish Catholicism, where communities of caldeo, Syrian-Malabar and Latin rite unite to honor the Virgin.
Our Lady of Skara
The cathedral of Skara, the oldest in Sweden (founded Circa 1050), was originally dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Although today it is a Lutheran temple, it retains within it a Marian chapel that recalls its Catholic origin. The advocation of Our Lady of Skara is one of the oldest in Scandinavia, and her feast is celebrated on September 8, Nativity of Mary. Local tradition tells that the original image of the Virgin of Skara, a Roman size of the 12th century, was hidden by the faithful during the Reformation and rediscovered in the 19th century on a nearby farm. Today he is in the Historical Museum of Stockholm, but the Catholics of Skara make an annual pilgrimage to the cathedral to honor the one his medieval patron.
"Our Lady of Skara, pray for us."
Mary, Mother of the Church (Malmö)
In Malmö, the third largest city in Sweden, the parish of Mary, Mother of the Church (Mariæ Moders församling) serves a multicultural Catholic community composed of immigrants from various backgrounds. The current church, built in 1974, is a modern building of Scandinavian lines, with an independent bell tower and a bright interior where it presides a contemporary size of the Virgin with the Child, the work of Swedish artist Birgitta Stenberg. The parish is known for its international Marian choir, which sings hymns in Swedish, Polish, Spanish and Arabic during the celebrations. The feast of Mary, Mother of the Church (1 January) is the patron celebration, with an ecumenical procession that runs through the streets of Malmö to the port.
"O Mary, Mother of the Church of Malmö, pray for us.
Ecumenism is an important dimension of Marian devotion in Sweden. In 2016, the Lutheran Cathedral of Lund was the stage of a historic joint prayer between Pope Francis and the Lutheran Archbishop Munib Younan, during the commemoration of the 500 years of the Reformation. On this occasion, both leaders prayed the Hail Mary together, a gesture of great symbolic significance that showed how the figure of Mary can unite Christians. The ecumenical pilgrimages to Vadstena, where Our Lady of Vadstena is venerated, are increasingly frequent, attracting Catholics, orthodox and Lutherans who seek in Mary a spiritual meeting point.
The diocese of Stockholm, built in 1953, covers all of Sweden. Bishop Anders Arborelius is the first Catholic bishop of Sweden of Swedish origin since the Reformation, and was created Cardinal by Pope Francis in 2017. His appointment has been a sign of the vitality of the Catholic Church in Scandinavia. Cardinal Arborelius has promoted devotion to Saint Brigida of Sweden, co-patron of Europe, and to Our Lady of Vadstena, as models of holiness and witness for Swedish Catholics. Every 23 July, the feast of Saint Brigida is celebrated with a pilgrimage to Vadstena that attracts Catholics from all over Scandinavia.
Is the advocation of the Virgin Mary of your people missing?
Si no encuentras la advocación mariana de tu ciudad o pueblo, cuéntanosla: la investigaremos para ubicarla y darla a conocer en este mapa del amor de la Madre por el mundo.
Propose an apvocation →