Speaking to Vatican News, Bishop Philippe Jourdan of Tallinn expressed his joy that the Catholic Church in Estonia will have its first Blessed, the Holy See's official news portal reported.

"It's very important for the local Church, because the goal of the Church is to help people to be saved and to be holy," Jourdan said.

The bishop of the recently established Diocese of Tallinn highlighted that this news came as the local Church is celebrating the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the Apostolic Administration of Estonia in 1924.

Jourdan added that even if the current situation is complicated, he would also say it's wonderful news for Catholics in Russia as well.

"The Archdiocese of Moscow began the process of the beatification of Archbishop Profittlich 21 years ago," he acknowledged.

"Archbishop Profittlich was a bit like Moses," Jourdan said. "He wanted to see the Promised Land, but he could not see it with his own eyes."

Marge-Marie Paas, the communications director of the Diocese of Tallinn, spearheaded Profittlich's beatification cause, serving as the diocesan postulator establishing the historical facts of the archbishop's life and evaluated the theological content of his extant works.

"His episcopal motto was 'Faith and Peace,'" Paas told Vatican News. "I'm sure that Archbishop Profittlich is encouraging us to keep faith and peace in our hearts always, even during the most challenging times."

First Estonian Catholic bishop

Eduard Gottlieb Profittlich was born into a Catholic family in Birresdorf, Germany in 1890, according to a website dedicated to the archbishop.

He joined the Jesuit Order in 1913, and was ordained as a priest in 1922. While continuing his studies in Poland, Profittlich expressed his interest in joining the Jesuit mission in Russia, but Soviet authorities would not allow Jesuits into the country.

Instead, Profittlich was sent to serve as priest for the congregation of Sts. Peter and Paul Cathedral in Tallinn in 1930, where a year later, he was appointed apostolic administrator of Estonia. Over the years, he learned the Estonian language, and took Estonian citizenship in 1935.

Profittlich was ordained titular archbishop at Sts. Peter and Paul Cathedral in Tallinn in December 1936, making him the first Catholic bishop to serve in Estonia since the Protestant Reformation as well as the first Estonian citizen to become ordained as a Catholic bishop.

Arrested at the altar

In early 1941, months after the Soviet occupation of Estonia, Profittlich made the decision not to flee to his native Germany.

"Nevertheless, it is fair that the shepherd stays with his sheep and shares joy and worry with them," he wrote in a letter to his relatives. "And I must say that it took a few weeks of preparation to make that decision, but it was not born of fear and dread, but with great joy."

According to Paas, the German-born Jesuit archbishop was arrested by Soviet authorities and deported "straight from the altar" of the Tallinn cathedral in June 1941.

He was sent to Kirov Prison, where following months of interrogations, he was sentenced to death that fall. Profittlich died from exposure in Kirov Prison the following February, before his sentence was executed.

Archbishop Eduard Profittlich's beaitifcation will mark the first in the history of the Estonian Catholic Church, but also be among the first in the entire Nordic region since the 16th century, weekly Eesti Ekspress reported Wednesday (link in Estonian).

The Estonian archbishop's beatification will take place in Tallinn in a few months, in accordance with the rules of the Holy See.

The Diocese of Tallinn will announce the official date of the beatification in January.

Click here to read more about Profittlich and the history of his beatification process.

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