The Catholic Church in Denmark

Catholic-web .dk

Dagmarkorset

The Roman Catholic Church has 960 million members world-wide. In Denmark we are a small part of the Christian presence in this country of 5 million people. The main denomination is the Evangelical-Lutheran state church to which more than 90 percent of the population belong. The 35,000 catholics are served by the diocese of Copenhagen, and our bishop since 1995 is Czeslaw Kozon.

Historically, Denmark was Catholic till 1536 when the Protestant Reformation changed the situation in all the Scandinavian countries. The legacy of this Catholic era can still be seen in the more than 1,000 Danish churches built from 1050 until the Reformation. Many of these churches have preserved their splendid mural frescoes depicting the central elements of Christian belief with charming naivity.

Today, the Catholic church is once again active in Denmark through its schools, parishes, religious orders, people religious and faithful believers. The effort concentrates on being a Christian presence in a secular society working in an ecumenical spirit with other Christians. We are all united in our common task of realising the message that our Lord Christ has given to us both as individuals and as society.

John-Erik Stig Hansen

CAT-Web /DK is managed by Ole Dam