CHARIS Nordic Newsletter June 2025

Bengt Malmgren
Jun 10
7 min read

In this letter: New members of the CHARIS Nordic team, Report from f Martti in Helsinki, Charismatic renewal in Denmark, Successful ecumenical Life in the Spirit seminars in Stockholm, Pentecost of the Ecclesial movements in Stockholm and Rome, CHARIS Nordic's website and book-shop, Ecumenical praise and worship in Stockholm 2 August, CHARIS needs your support.

New members in the CHARIS Nordic team

The Nordic CHARIS community has been expanded with two more members: Father Martti Savijoki SCJ from St. Mary's Parish in Helsinki and Nora Palacios from St. Ansgar's Parish in Copenhagen. Nora represents the Spanish speak in the parish and is also a member of the pastoral council.

Renewal and ecumenism in Finland

F Martti Savijoki SCJ is a priest in St. Mary's Parish in Helsinki and belongs to the Order of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (SCJ). He leads the prayer group "Hearts on Fire" in the church. He has been a speaker at ecumenical charismatic gatherings in Finland and together with members of the prayer group attended various charismatic Protestant meetings, which has contributed to a new atmosphere of spiritual friendship between Catholic and Protestant charismatics. The Pentecostal movement in Finland is showing a more and more open attitude towards the historic apostolic churches.

F. Martti about the prayer group: "It consists of a stable core of members. We are ecumenically open and welcome members from different churches and communities including Lutherans, Orthodox, Pentecostals and Christians with neo-Pentecostal backgrounds. Last year's Life in the Spirit seminars bore fruit, with many participants then finding a spiritual home in our group. During the spring, we have also conducted an Alpha course in the diocese, which turned out well. We also have half-day Bible conferences regularly, which is a growing reality."

Charismatic renewal in Denmark, new contact person

Nora Palacios from the Spanish-speaking group and member of the pastoral council of St. Ansgar's parish has become the new contact person for Denmark. She participated in the Nordic Jubilee Pilgrimage to Rome in February and has taken part in internet-based course programs on CHARIS international's website. She has also been following some of Renewal ministries' (Ann Arbour, USA) internet-based programs for some time. After reading the CHARIS Nordic newsletter about the Life in the Spirit seminars in Stockholm, she felt that she wanted to contribute to the development of renewal in Denmark and contacted me. Nora is also in contact with Bishop Czeslaw Kozon, who is the contact person for CHARIS Nordic within the Nordic Bishops' Conference. She knows F. Lars Messerschmidh, former Vicar General of the Diocese of Copenhagen, because she has participated in healing masses that he regularly until recently has held. F Lars participated actively in our Nordic co-operation in the 1980s, including in the organization of the Nordic Charismatic Conference in Stockholm in 1985.

Successful ecumenical Life in the Spirit seminars in Stockholm

Over 40 people signed up for this year's Life in the Spirit seminars, which were given in collaboration between St. Clara Church (Lutheran)and the Intercessory prayergroup in the Catholic Cathedral, and about 30 completed. After the introductory speeches, they gathered in five discussion groups. Bengt Malmgren together with the priest Johan Norén from St. Clara were in charge and to help them they had Hans Weichbrodt, also a priest in St. Clara as well as a team of group leaders, it is gratifying that there is a rejuvenation with young people in the team. In the leadership team, we agreed that this form of ecumenical cooperation is very fruitful, something we would like to continue to develop.

The seminars ended with a festive coffee on 4 June. Both leaders and participants were overall very satisfied. "Life in the Spirit seminars have been so rewarding and I feel great gratitude for having been able to participate. It has deepened my faith and given me the longing for more," someone said.

Life in the Spirit, team manual and participant booklet in Swedish were used as a basis for the course. The material can be ordered from [CHARIS Nordic´s bookshop].

Pentecost vigil with the Ecclesial movements in the Cathedral in Stockholm with Cardinal Anders Arborelius

The cardinal celebrated Pentecostal Vigil in the Catholic Cathedral on June 7 along with the Ecclesial movements as he usually does on Pentecost. On the diocese homepage there are 19 different ecclesial movements and secular institutes listed . The bishop emphasized in his homily that the church is dependent on the Holy Spirit and the movement contributes to the life of the church with its diversity of charisms. Afterwards, there was coffee and continued socializing in the Cathedral Hall and the cardinal told about the events in Rome in connection with the recently concluded conclave. [See also Bishop Anders about Pope Leo on the diocese's website]

Pictures from the Pentecostal vigil in the Cathedral:

*Four priests and one deacon concelebrated. From left to right: F Manuel (Neocatechumenal Way), f Maximus MSP, f Vladimir, deacon Lars-Lennarth Larsson, bishop Anders, dean f Michael MSP.*

The movements represent a multitude of graces, they are at the heart of the Church, while at the same time affirming the full responsibility of the laity as participants in the Church's mission. The key words of the synodal process Pope Francis initiated in 2021, communion, participation, misson apply to all of them.

Also in Rome, Pope Leo celebrated Pentecostvigil along with the spiritual movements. 70,000 people were gathered in St. Peter's Square. In his homily, the Pope emphasized the synodal process and the necessity of communion and unity for the evangelization of the Church and the movements as nurseries for this. From his sermon:

“Dear friends, God created the world so that we might all live as one. ‘Synodality’ is the ecclesial name for this. It demands that we each recognize our own poverty and our riches, that we feel part of a greater whole, apart from which everything withers, even the most original and unique of charisms.

Think about it. All creation exists solely in the form of coexistence, sometimes dangerous, yet always interconnected (cf. Laudato Si’, 16; 117). And what we call “history” only takes place as coexistence, living together, however contentiously, but always together. The opposite is lethal, but sadly, we are witnessing this daily. May your meetings and your communities, then, be training grounds of fraternity and sharing, not merely meeting places, but centres of spirituality. The Spirit of Jesus changes the world because he changes hearts. The Spirit inspires the contemplative dimension of life that rejects self-assertion, complaining, rivalry and the temptation to control consciences and resources. The Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom (cf. 2 Cor 3:17). An authentic spirituality thus commits us to integral human development, to making Jesus’ words a reality in our lives. When this happens, there is always joy: joy and hope.

Evangelization, dear brothers and sisters, is not our attempt to conquer the world, but the infinite grace that radiates from lives transformed by the Kingdom of God. It is the way of the Beatitudes, a path that we tread together, between the “already” and the “not yet,” hungering and thirsting for justice, poor in spirit, merciful, meek, pure of heart, men and women of peace. Jesus himself chose this path: to follow it, we have no need of powerful patrons, worldly compromises, or emotional strategies. Evangelization is always God’s work. If at times it takes place through us, it is thanks to the bonds that it makes possible. So be deeply attached to each of the particular Churches and parish communities in which you cultivate and exercise your charisms. Together with the bishops and in cooperation with all the other members of the Body of Christ, all of us will then work together harmoniously as one. The challenges facing humanity will be less frightening, the future will be less dark and discernment will be less complicated… if together we obey the Holy Spirit!” [The full sermon here]

CHARIS Nordic's website

Welcome to the CHARIS Nordic website. It is a resource at your disposal. The basic language is English but is also available in language versions for all the Nordic languages, which can be used by local groups within the different countries as the renewal grows. There is a news blog, event booking and group pages for internal communication. Welcome to explore it at the address https://www.charisnordic.org.

There is also an [e-shop] where you can order material for the Life in the Spirit seminars and the new editions of Lillemor Hallin's books. For decades, Lillemor has been one of the most influential voices in Catholic charismatic renewal in Sweden, with an emphasis on the ecumenical dimension.

Ecumenical events in Sweden in the summer of 2025

Worship and praise in Kungsträdgården, Stockholm, August 2

To this event in Kungsträdgården 2 August 13.00 – 21.00, a network of churches and organizations invites, including representatives from the Salvation Army, the Pentecostal Movement and neo-Pentecostal churches, evangelical churches, the Church of Sweden, EFS, EFK and Arab and African congregations as well as CHARIS Nordic.

The focus is entirely on praise and worship of Jesus. No sermons, no representation of different churches on stage. There is a need for prayer and praise in the public space, there is a power to gather in unity from different contexts to worship Jesus. Many of us may remember the Jesus manifestation that took place in Stockholm in 2008-2014. Come and join us on a historic day! More information: [https://www.sverigetillberjesus.se]

The Oas Movement: summer meeting 30 July – 3 Aug

Oas movement is a charismatic movement in the Swedish Lutheran church. Speakers include Cardinal Anders Arborelius. https://oasrorelsen.se/sommaroas/sommaroas-2025/