“When the king received this wound, he lent against a stone and threw away his sword, asking God to help him,” the story goes.
Soon after the king’s death, the tone changed among his enemies.
“That winter, there were many in Trondheimen who began to say that king Olaf was truly a holy man and that many wonders took place because of his holiness. Many began to pray to king Olaf,” the website says.
One year later, Olaf was proclaimed a saint and martyr. His body was exhumed and found intact, with a fragrant of roses.
The calling of Bishop Varden
Stiklestad, where St. Olaf died, is today an important memorial and pilgrimage site. A chapel has been built on a hill in the middle of the site, located in the prelature of Trondheim.
“By his work as a legislator, he shows us that a Christian community must be governed by universal principles of justice. By his courage in the face of resistance, he shows us that some things are worth dying for,” explained the prelate of Trondheim, Bishop Erik Varden, who spoke to CNA about the legacy of the king.
“For the Catholics in Norway,” he added, “St. Olaf represents a purposeful Christian life. He shows us that grace works slowly but surely; that it calls on us to make radical choices; that a life lived in the service of the Gospel brings freedom and flourishing but not necessarily success. After all, he died a martyr.”
At a solemn Mass on the feast of St. Olaf in Nidarosdomen last summer, Varden remarked in his homily that at the time of Olaf’s martyrdom, “people came in droves to pray before Olaf’s remains. They found comfort and healing.” And it still happens today. “We have in our midst some who have been healed of grave illness after praying before St. Olaf’s relics,” the bishop said.
Varden told CNA that the preparations of the jubilee have begun early because “great things take time.”
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“We wish to use this time of grace to become more conscious of the legacy entrusted to us through the Church and to assume responsibility for it in a commitment to conversion, that our lives may be credibly Catholic and Christian,” Varden explained.
As to the numbers of pilgrims expected for the 2030 event, in a country where Catholics account for about 3% of the population, the bishop remarked that “in the Middle Ages, people flocked to the tomb of St. Olaf from all over Europe. We see a resurgence of this pilgrimage tradition.”
The preparation on the way
In view of the jubilee, the prelature of Trondheim will launch an initiative called Mission2030 on April 13 of this year at St. Olaf’s Cathedral in Trondheim. Coordinated through EWTN Norway, the inaugural conference will reflect on “the meaning of ‘mission’ in the year of Our Lord 2024.” (Note: EWTN is the parent company of CNA.)
A similar conference — with a panel discussion, Mass, Liturgy of the Hours, and exhibitions — will take place each spring in the years leading up to 2030, according to the official website. The topics in these upcoming years include “St. John Paul II and the Call to New Evangelization,” “Christian Faith and Charitable Action,” “Literature and Good News,” “Preaching through Beauty,” “To Follow a Call,” and “Life and Faith According to the Scriptures.”
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