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Blessed Eduard Profittlich and the Holiness

20-21 February 2026 International Conference Language: English

Friday, 20 February 2026
Theatrum Hall, Vene 14

14.00 Gathering and coffee
14.30 Opening of the conference. Moderator Hardo Pajula
14.35 Welcome speech, Apostolic Nuncio in Baltic States, H. E. Archbishop Georg Gänswein
14.50 H. E. Bishop of Tallinn Philippe Jourdan. "Be holy, I the Lord your God, am holy": holiness in the Bible and in our lives.
15.15 Questions and answers. Moderator

15.30 Coffee/tea

16.00 Dr. Thorsten Hofmann (Germany). “The martyrs have returned” – Blessed Eduard Profittlich as an example of martyrdom in our time
16.20 Dr. Olivier Peyron (France). The Russian Martyrs and the Blessed E. Profittlich serving the same Cause: Some Reflections on the Canonization Process of the Ten New Russian Martyrs of the 20th Century (Mons Malečki  and his nine companions)
16.40 Dr. Krzysztof Homa SJ (Poland). Ignatian spirituality and Eduard Profittlich SJ.
17.00 Questions and answers. Moderator
17.15 Closing prayer

Saturday, 21 February 2026
Theatrum Hall

11.30 Gathering and coffee
12.00 Opening remarks of the 2-day conference by the Apostolic Nuncio H. E. Archbishop Georg Gänswein
12.05 Keynote speaker, the Secretary (Relations with States) to the Holy See's Secretariat of the State, His Excellency Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher STL JCD
12.30 Questions and answers
12.40 Tomasz Materna. How to be a good Christian. Based on Blessed Eduard Profittlich
13.00 Dr. Marge Paas. On the path to sainthood of Blessed Eduard Profittlich
13.20 Questions and answers
13.30 Closing prayer

Coffee/tea

Following:

 15.00 Blessing of the Chapel of the Blessed Eduard Profittlich. In the Crypt of the St Peter and Paul Cathedral (with invitations)
 16.00 Holy Mass. St Peter and Paul Cathedral
 17.30 Reception. In Ait (Vene 14, with invitations)

There will be online conference and Mass on 21.02 at Youtube channel (Tallinna Piiskopkond)

More info: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

​
After an exceptionally important year for our Church -  2025, I would like to send you a message so that we can review together, in the light of the Holy Spirit, the blessings we have received and the tasks we have now received.

Last year, on December 19, 2024, I proclaimed a Year of Thanksgiving in the Catholic Church in Estonia when Pope Francis approved the beatification of Archbishop Eduard Profittlich, and this will last until February 22, 2026, which is also the first memorial day of Blessed Eduard Profittlich.

We are still in this Year of Thanksgiving and we have reason to give thanks, because this year remains a turning point in the history of our Church. With joy and gratitude, we celebrated the elevation of the Estonian Catholic Church to the Diocese of Tallinn, the beatification of Bishop Eduard Profittlich, and our pilgrimage to Rome, where we were received by the Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV. These three events form a spiritual triptych that illuminates our Catholic identity, deepens our unity, and renews our hope.

When the Holy See announced the elevation of our Church to the Diocese of Tallinn, we felt moved that our entire community was recognized as a living and stable reality, rooted in this land where the Gospel continues to bear fruit. This decision is much more than an administrative change - it is a sign of the trust of the universal Church in our local Catholic community. With this gesture, the Successor of Peter confirms that there is a Catholic community in Estonia that is able to structure itself, lead itself, and proclaim the Gospel with its own dynamism, always remaining faithful to the teaching of Christ. Our elevation to the new Diocese of Tallinn is not only a new rank, but also a responsibility. I invite you to accept this call to greater personal responsibility to support Christian education, encourage vocations, and nourish the pastoral charity that must radiate throughout our country.

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​In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Peace be with you!
Your Excellencies,
Dear friends,

I am very pleased to welcome you to Rome on the occasion of your pilgrimage during this Jubilee Year focused on the theological virtue of hope. I pray that as you visit the various holy sites, your hope in the Lord’s promises will be strengthened so that you can return home full of joy, and be ready to share your faith with those you encounter by proclaiming the Gospel in simple ways each day.

In a particular way, I greet the two recently ordained priests. Your generosity in saying “yes” to the Lord’s call to serve him and the Church as ordained ministers of the Gospel is indeed a sign of hope for the Christian community in your land. May your response to your vocation encourage many others to do likewise!
A further sign of hope is the raising of your local Church, last year, to the level of a Diocese, a century after its creation as an Apostolic Administration and almost 500 years after the disappearance of the ancient See of Tallinn. Your presence gives me the opportunity to congratulate you in person, and I encourage you to pray for one another, and especially for your Bishop, whom I warmly greet, so that your unity as a community of faith will always be nourished by the Lord and attract new believers. It is especially good that you are able, on behalf of all your brothers and sistersin Estonia, to give thanks here in Rome for this special grace bestowed by almighty God, and to celebrate the close links of the Church in your land with the Successor of Saint Peter. It is my hope that these links will be even stronger as a result of your pilgrimage.
I know, too, that among you are some members of the Estonian Lutheran Church, together with other non-Catholics, including a group of those who generously supported the organizing of the beatification of Archbishop Eduard Profittlich, which took place in the Freedom Square of your capital city just last month. Your ecumenical witness, which can only grow through setting out on pilgrimage together, is a welcome reflection of Blessed Eduard’s own witness, and is the very antithesis of the hatred that was so tragically visible during the Soviet regime’s persecution of the Church. Today, as you well know, we still see the logic of war being perpetrated in Europe, and I would ask you to pray fervently for peace, especially during the remainder of your time in Rome.

Dear friends, thank you for your visit. As you return to your homes, please know that you do so accompanied by my prayers. In a particular way, I ask you to bring my warm greetings to your family members and friends. Tell them that the Pope is praying for them!

With these sentiments, I entrust each of you to the intercession of Mary, Mother of the Church.

And may the blessing of Almighty God, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, come down on you and remain with you for ever.

Amen.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

A year ago, on September 26, 2024, the Catholic Church in Estonia received a great gift when the Holy Father Francis elevated the Apostolic Administration of Estonia to the Diocese of Tallinn and appointed me as the first bishop of the new diocese. It was a historic moment! We know that the Diocese of Tallinn was already established once, in the distant past in 1219, but ceased its activities after the Reformation, like other Estonian Catholic dioceses. On November 1, 1924, Pope Pius XI officially re-established the Catholic Church in Estonia, but the situation of the Catholic community at that time did not yet allow for the establishment of a diocese. A hundred years later, Pope Francis’ decision was undoubtedly a sign of trust for Estonian Catholics, confirming that God sees our faith, our daily striving to live in Christ and witness to the Gospel.

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