The Diocese of Tallinn (Estonia) announces that on 18 December 2024, His Holiness Pope Francis approved the beatification of Archbishop Eduard Profittlich SJ (1890-1942).
The beatification of Archbishop Eduard Profittlich will take place in Tallinn, according to the rules of the Holy See, a few months after. The official date will be announced soon in 2025.
This is a historic event for Estonia and the Estonian people. Archbishop Eduard Profittlich, following the Pope's suggestion and staying true to himself and God, decided to share the common fate of so many Estonians. He stayed in Estonia with the people and Church that he loved so much, and even though he had the opportunity to leave for his native Germany, he remained faithful to his vocation and God until the end. However, this brought him martyrdom in Kirov prison in Soviet Russia.
The Roman Catholic Church has been waiting for this day for a long time, as this beatification has been dealt with for over 21 years, and it is the first in the history of the Estonian Catholic Church, and one of the first in the Nordic countries after the 16th century. Certainly, this decision of the Pope has a significant meaning for the whole of Estonia.
The Diocese of Tallinn will start preparations for the major Church event in 2025, and hopefully there will be the Beatification Mass in the spring of next year. The Diocese will announce the time and place of the solemn event as soon as possible.
It is significant that the beatification will take place in the jubilee year 2025 of the entire Catholic world, a tradition that dates to the year 1300 when Pope Boniface VIII invited all believers to celebrate the first jubilee with the Church. Thus, this historic Church event receives considerable attention worldwide, and Estonian Catholics will try to organize it with dignity and distinction.
Eduard Profittlich was born in Birresdorf, Germany. After studying philosophy and theology in Valkenburg, Profittlich moved to Poland in 1922 where he studied philosophy and theology at doctoral level. He then worked as a parish priest in Poland and Germany. In 1930, he was sent to Estonia to serve and build the Catholic Church. He was appointed an apostolic administrator (1931) and was later named archbishop by Pope Pius XII (1936). Eduard Profittlich had Estonian citizenship, he learned the Estonian language and was a patriot of Estonian culture and people. In large part thanks to the dedication of Eduard Profittlich, the pastoral work of the Catholic Church in Estonia reached a new level. The Soviets arrested Profittlich in June 1941 and sent him to Kirov prison where he was sentenced to death. Archbishop Profittlich died on February 22, 1942, in Kirov before the execution of the judgment.
Diocese of Tallinn
Contact person: Marge-Marie Paas
Phone: + 372 52 86 326
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.