Roman Catholicism in Finland

The Catholic Church in Finland is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome.

Finland has the lowest proportion of Catholics in all of Europe, about 12,000 people. The overwhelming majority are foreign-born, particularly Polish. About half of the priests are Polish. As of 2016 there are only 5 Finland-born priests, and only 2 of them work in Finland. The Bishop of Helsinki is Mgr. Teemu Sippo, appointed on June 16, 2009. He is the first Finn to serve as a Catholic bishop for over 500 years.

Due to the tiny number of Catholics in Finland, the whole country forms a single diocese, the Catholic Diocese of Helsinki.

Catholicism was the first form of Christendom that entered the area of Finland. Earliest finds of Western-Christian (Catholic) artefacts date from the 11th to the 12th century. In the 16th century Finland, as part of Sweden, took part in the Lutheran reformation after which Catholicism lost almost all ground in the area.

The first Catholic religious service following the death of the Catholic John III of Sweden was held in 1796 by the apostolic vicar of , the Italian-born Father Paolo Moretti.

The parish Vyborg was established 1799 in the Russian part of Old Finland. After the rest of Finland became part of the Russian Empire in 1812, the parish covered the whole Grand Duchy of Finland. There were about 3000 Catholics in 1830. All the priests until the 1860s were Lithuanian Dominicans. The parish of Helsinki was founded 1856, possibly due the influence of the General Governor Friedrich Wilhelm von Berg's Italian wife, Leopoldina Cicogna Mozzoni (1786 -Warsaw 17 February 1874). St. Henry's Cathedral in Helsinki was finished in 1860.

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