About Finland:
Finland (officially, The Republic of Finland) gained independence from the Russian Empire on December 6, 1917, taking advantage of the instability caused by the Russian Revolution. Russia, under Bolshevik rule, officially recognized Finland’s independence by the end of 1917.
Finland is known for its stunning natural beauty, innovative design, and high quality of life. Finland spans about 138,000 square miles (338,455 square km), with about 75% percent of the land covered in forests, over 180,000 lakes, and a long coastline along the Baltic Sea. It has a cold, temperate climate with distinct seasons—winters are snowy and dark (with polar night, a winter phenomenon where the sun remains below the horizon for over 24 hours) in the north, while summers are mild with long daylight (midnight sun in Lapland).
Finland is close in size to the U.S. state of Montana or the country of Germany (Germany is slightly larger) yet smaller than Sweden, Norway, France, and Spain. With a population of only about 5.6 million people, Finland is sparsely populated. Finns speak Finnish (a Uralic language) and Swedish (official minority language), with many fluent in English. The culture blends Nordic minimalism, sauna traditions (over 2 million saunas!), and a love for nature.
Finland is world‑famous for its saunas, and the tradition is deeply embedded in daily life, with millions of public and private saunas across the country WikipediaWikipedia+1.
Sauna culture in Finland. The Finnish sauna (Finnish: sauna) is a heated, steam‑filled room traditionally warmed by wood‑burning stoves, and it is used for relaxation, hygiene, and socialising. Finland has around three million saunas for a population of about 5.5 million people — the highest number per capita in the world.
Major Regions of Finland:
Finland is divided into 19 official regions (maakunnat), ranging from Åland in the southwest to Lapland in the far north. These regions vary widely in size, population, and geography, with Uusimaa being the most populous and Lapland the largest by area.
Lapland is Finland’s northernmost region, bordering Sweden, Norway, Russia and the Baltic Sea. It’s known for its vast subarctic wilderness, ski resorts and natural phenomena including the midnight sun and the Northern Lights. Lapland is the homeland of the indigenous Sami people.
Catholic places of interest in Finland:
The Catholic population is small..arguably the smallest percentage of Catholics in all of Europe. As of 2025, there were around 16,000 registered Catholics, or 0.3% of Finland’s 5.6 million people—but the Church is vibrant, with eight parishes across the country. Priests travel extensively, and Masses are sometimes held in borrowed Lutheran or Orthodox churches (25 non-Catholic churches host Catholic Masses monthly).
Half of Catholic families are native Finnish converts; the rest international. Annual baptisms and conversions add roughly 250–500, per diocesan estimates.
In Finland, the church tax is a local, flat-rate income tax of between 1% and 2.25%, applicable only to members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland or the Finnish Orthodox Church.
The Catholic Church gets no support from the state church tax and relies on 1.5% voluntary income-based fees.
Finland’s first Catholic school (yes, the first-ever!), the Helsinki Catholic School, will open in Helsinki in August 2026 and will be open to students of all beliefs, though its teaching will be guided by Catholic values. It will follow Finland’s national curriculum and the Basic Education Act, ensuring high-quality education, while also implementing its own curriculum to further guide teaching with Catholic values. Children beginning preschool or grades 1–3 are eligible, with a target of 5–10 pupils for the first academic year.
The school focuses on holistic formation based on Christian values, combining the Finnish national curriculum with a Catholic identity in moral and cultural education.
Admissions will be open to all students, regardless of their religious belief, with participation in religious activities being voluntary.
The school will operate on the second floor of a Lutheran church on the island of Lauttasaari near the Church of Saint James the Apostle. For further information about the school:
Address: Helsingin Katolinen koulu
Myllykallionrinne 1, 00200 Helsinki
Phone: +358 044 9022447
E-mail: koulu@katolinen.fi
Helsinki:
Located on the southern coast, Helsinki is the capitol of Finland and its largest city.
Saint Henry’s Cathedral. Saint Mary’s Church, Church of the Assumption of Mary
Turku:
Turku, located on the southwestern coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River, is recognized as the country’s oldest city. The first written mention of Turku, then called Aboa, appears in a papal document by Pope Gregory IX in 1229, which is now considered the city’s founding year. Archaeological evidence suggests the area was inhabited even during the Stone Age, but the establishment of a permanent settlement in the 13th century marked the beginning of Turku as a city. Turku quickly became a central hub for trade, culture, and religion. It was the seat of the Bishop of Turku, later elevated to Archbishop, and served as Finland’s primary urban center during the Middle Ages . The city was also home to the first university in Finland, the Royal Academy of Turku, founded in 1640, which later became the University of Helsinki . Turku served as the capital of the Grand Duchy of Finland under Russian rule from 1809 until 1812, when the capital was moved to Helsinki.
Saint Bridget and Blessed Hemming:, was a Catholic stronghold before the Reformation. The modern parish, established in 1926, is named after St. Bridget of Sweden and Blessed Hemming, a 14th-century bishop. While the medieval Turku Cathedral is now Lutheran, it was originally Catholic and remains a pilgrimage site for its historical significance, once housing St. Henry’s relics. The current Catholic church in Turku offers Masses and community events.
Köyliö Pilgrimage Site: In southwestern Finland, Köyliö is where St. Henry was martyred in 1156 on Lake Köyliö’s ice.</strong) A chapel on an artificial island marks the spot. Since the 1950s, an annual pilgrimage in mid-June draws Catholics for a one-day bus trip or a three-day walk, fostering devotion and community.
Catholic parishes in Jyväskylä, Tampere (with chapels in Vaasa and Pietarsaari), Kouvola, Kuopio, and Oulu are active, often serving diverse communities with Masses in multiple languages.
Oulu’s Holy Family of Nazareth Parish, one of the northernmost Catholic parishes globally, is notable for its missionary history tied to the Neocatechumenal Way. These parishes often rely on ecumenical cooperation, using Lutheran or Orthodox churches for Masses due to limited Catholic infrastructure.
As of 2025, Finland’s Catholic community is growing (500+ new Catholics annually, half from baptisms, half from immigration), but financial constraints limit new church construction. Pilgrimages and youth camps in Lapland, led by Bishop Raimo Goyarrola, strengthen faith amid a secular landscape.