Estonians celebrate first anniversary of Blessed Profittlich’s beatification

By Marge-Marie Paas – Tallinn*

Estonian Catholics are preparing to celebrate the first anniversary of the beatification of Blessed Archbishop Eduard Profittlich, SJ (1890-1942).

The Catholic Church in Estonia had its first beatification in its history on September 6, 2025 – an event that transcended the borders of the Catholic Church and acquired an important ecumenical dimension for all Christians.

This event was special for several reasons. First, it highlighted that the small Catholic Church in Estonia, with a membership of around 8,000 Catholics, offers a great witness to the entire universal Church. In a world enduring much pain and hardship, war and fear remain close-at-hand to the Estonian people.

Celia Kuningas-Saagpakk, former Ambassador of Estonia to the Holy See, said Blessed Profittlich offers the world a contemporary message about the cyclical nature of human evil.

“We live in a world where daily headlines remind us that cruelty and systemic injustice are far from defeated. Evil recurs, it merely changes its symbols,” she said. “The beatification of a man who died in the cold Kirov prison camp is not just a celebration of a historical figure, but a moral warning call to the present. It compels us to look around and acknowledge that the same forces of totalitarian contempt for human dignity are at work in various corners of the world.”

The ambassador has frequently spoken about the new Blessed, often referring to his holiness, fidelity, and loyalty evident in his diplomatic speeches. The opportunity for the Catholic Church in Estonia to cooperate with the State on the path toward holiness offers a particular joy for the community.

The holy reputation of Blessed Eduard Profittlich continues to spread strongly in Estonian society.

Bishop Philippe Jourdan, Bishop of Tallinn, says the one-year anniversary of the beatification holds a special place in Estonian society.

“Blessed Profittlich is a symbol of the tragedy experienced by the Estonian people during the Stalinist deportations of the 20th century,” he says. “He decided of his own accord not to abandon the people entrusted to his care and to share the tragic fate of the tens of thousands of Estonians who lost their lives in Soviet prisons.”

Bishop Jourdan notes that Blessed Profittlich serves today as a model and heavenly intercessor for Estonians.

“In a country considered one of the least religious in Europe, and where Catholics are few, the Church’s primary mark of credibility—even more so than its preaching—is the fruits of holiness it bears,” he says. “It would be paradoxical and disappointing if the Church were to propose holiness to everyone yet fail to recognize that it is possible to be a saint in our Estonian society, in our time, and in our recent history.”

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Blessed Profittlich remains highly respected among Latin-rite Catholics, and Eastern-rite Catholics also pay great attention to his faith, hope and love.

The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in Estonia has several parishes. When the war started in Ukraine, the number of Eastern-rite Catholics in Estonia increased many times over due to the influx of Ukrainian refugees. Several parishes were founded and religious life diversified.

On September 6, members of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church were present with their parishes at the beatification. A small church in Tallinn’s Old Town, dedicated to the protector Our Lady of the Three Hands, welcomes visitors with symbols and prayer cards of Blessed Eduard Profittlich.

Many people find support and spiritual closeness in the new Blessed martyr. Father Roman Kihk, the parish priest, says that, for the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in Estonia, Blessed Profittlich’s martyrdom under the Soviet regime echoes the experience of more recent martyrs.

“His example is also meaningful for Ukrainians in Estonia today,” he says. “Although German by birth, he made Estonia the land of his ministry and remained faithful to its people until death. In our parish, we commemorate him in prayer and encourage the faithful to seek his intercession, remembering that violence and death never have the final word—the final word belongs to God and the Resurrection.”

Estonian Catholics remain steadfast in their hope for the canonization of Blessed Eduard Profittlich and pray for the Blessed’s intercession.

Bishop Jourdan encourages the people of God to remember that the saints are not merely a gallery of admirable figures from the past.

“God is not the God of the dead but the God of the living,” he says. “The saints are alive; they are close to us, and if they loved us so much while they lived on earth, they love us even more now that they are in Heaven.”

For Estonian Catholics, the beatification cannot remain just a historical memory, but they want it to grow into a new spiritual spring in the Estonian Church, which would be an example for the entire Catholic Church and for the world.

The liturgical memorial of the Blessed Eduard Profittlich in Estonia is February 21.

* Communications Director of the Diocese of Tallinn