Roman Catholic Diocese of Reykjavík


The Roman Catholic Diocese of Reykjavík is a diocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church which covers the whole of the country of Iceland, and numbered 11,454 Catholics on January 1, 2014. It reports directly to the Holy See of Rome.

History

The Apostolic Prefecture of Iceland was created in 1923 and this was elevated to an Apostolic Administration in 1929, which in turn was elevated to the status of a diocese in 1968. In 2015 the then bishop, Pierre Bürcher retired and Father Dávid Bartimej Tencer, OFM Cap., was appointed to succeed him as the fifth bishop of the diocese. The bishop of Reykjavík participates in the Scandinavian Bishops Conference. The vicar general is Fr. Patrick Breen, rector of Landakot Cathedral, Christ the King Parish.
The Diocese of Reykjavík is a modern creation. The medieval church was represented by the sees of Skálholt and Hólar, but these became Lutheran during the Reformation. Iceland remained without Roman Catholic prelates until the Apostolic Prefecture was established at Reykjavík in 1923.

Episcopal ordinaries

Apostolic Prefecture of Iceland

  1. Martin Meulenberg, SMM
  2. Jóhannes Gunnarsson, SMM

    Diocese of Reykjavík

  3. Hendrik Hubert Frehen, SMM
  4. Alfred James Jolson, SJ
  5. Joannes Gijsen
  6. Pierre Bürcher
  7. Dávid Bartimej Tencer, OFM Cap.

    Coat of arms

The proposal of coat of arms created Marek Sobola, a heraldic specialist from Slovakia, who also made a coat of arms for the new Bishop Tencer recently. These are based on the Icelandic flag and an older stamp of the Diocese. He prepared three different variations. Then the priests, nuns and the staff at the Bishop᾿s office, a total of 42 persons, were involved in choosing the ones they thought were best, and thus the final selection was made.

Footnotes