Kudos to the good people at Aleteia for finding the Catholic angle to this story. While the good padre doesn’t have much to say about the current geopolitical situation, he does offer some insight into what it’s like to be a parish priest in Greenland — and a missionary, at that:
Greenland has only about 57,000 inhabitants, of whom only a handful are Catholic. The only Catholic parish — in the capital city of Nuuk — is run by Father Tomaž Majcen, a Franciscan who is also a missionary in Denmark. He spends three weeks at a time in Greenland several times a year. Other priests also visit the local Catholics, so that at least one Catholic priest is available to the community most of the time.
“At first, I thought I knew what cold was. But Greenland is something else!” admits Father Tomaž.
A native Slovenian, he shared with the Slovenian edition of Aleteia his interesting experiences of Greenland, Denmark, and their inhabitants, and invites us to pray for peace and to take care of our vulnerable natural environment.
I invite you to pray for peace and respect for sovereignty, and to join us in caring for creation, especially our fragile Arctic environment, which is one of God’s most stunning yet vulnerable masterpieces.
The interview has been edited for clarity and length.
Aleteia: What was your path to the priesthood and why did you choose the Franciscan Friars Minor Conventual?
Father Tomaž Majcen: From a young age, I felt that the Lord was calling me to something special. However, my path to the priesthood wasn’t straight; there were searches, doubts, and even moments when I wondered if this was really for me. However, the Lord has his own path and his own time for each of us.
When I got to know the Franciscan Friars Minor Conventual, I was inspired by the simplicity of St. Francis’ spirit. I liked how St. Francis didn’t have a high level of education, but simply loved God and all of creation. The joy and brotherhood among the Friars Minor attracted me.
What’s it like to be a missionary among the Danes? Surely the experience of the Catholic faith is quite different from that in Slovenia.
Father Tomaž: Oh, it’s a really big contrast! Denmark is one of the most secularized countries in the world. The Lutheran Church is more of a cultural institution there: People get married there, have their children baptized, and then don’t come back until the funeral. That’s how it is.
It’s different for Catholics in Copenhagen. We’re a minority, only 2%. But we’re a living Church! People come to church because they want to, not because of tradition. And that’s beautiful to see. It gave me a new perspective. In Slovenia, we sometimes take faith for granted. Of course we’re Catholics, of course we have a cross on the wall … But [in Denmark], you have to choose. And when they choose faith, they live it more deeply, more consciously.
