Arborelius Anders

Cardinal Anders Arborelius, O.C.D., Bishop of Stockholm, is the first Catholic bishop of Swedish origin since the Lutheran Reformation and the first cardinal from the Nordic European countries. Born on 24 September 1949 in Sorengo, Switzerland, to Swedish parents, he grew up in Lund, Sweden. Although baptised Lutheran, as a young man he felt a strong ‘attraction’ for Catholicism, which he joined in 1969. In 1971 he joined the Discalced Carmelite order, inspired by the spirituality of St. Therese of Lisieux. He studied theology in Bruges and Rome, and also holds a degree in modern languages. He was ordained a priest on 8 September 1979 in Malmoe. After about twenty years of monastic life, he was appointed Bishop of Stockholm by John Paul II on 17 November 1998, receiving episcopal ordination the following 29 December. His episcopal motto, In laudem gloriae, reflects the conviction that everything is for the glory of God. Pope Francis created him a Cardinal in the Consistory of 28 June 2017. In addition to his role as bishop, he has been president and now vice-president of the Bishops’ Conference of Scandinavia, and is a member of various Vatican dicasteries, including those for the Clergy, for Bishops, for the Oriental Churches and for the Promotion of Christian Unity. His pastoral work takes place in a very secularised Sweden, where the Church is growing through immigration and conversions. One of his priorities is to find new ways to ‘be Church in a minority situation’, to proclaim the Gospel and to help the faithful grow in holiness. He has been at the forefront for the reception and rights of migrants. He is very active in promoting ecumenical harmony between different Christian denominations in Sweden, as witnessed by his participation in a joint Catholic-Lutheran delegation to the Vatican in 2017.