Uploaded on: 06/24/2007
Scandinavian settlers have enriched the archdiocese
By Susan Klemond
The Catholic Spirit
The vast majority of Swedes, Norwegians, Finns and Danes . . . were Lutheran. Many who converted to Catholicism did so as they entered the American melting pot: by marrying a Catholic, often of German or Irish descent. |
Walking into a Catholic Mass in the 1930s must have been like visiting a new world for Paul Krave, who grew up in the more evangelical Swedish Covenant Church in rural Isanti County. But the young man liked what he saw. After Mass, he turned to the woman he would later marry and said, “I like your faith, Eunice. It’s beautiful.”
Despite opposition from his Swedish immigrant family, my grandfather decided to convert to Catholicism before marrying my grandmother in 1935.
But he didn’t just sign up. He embraced the faith, heading up the Holy Name Society at St. Bridget in north Minneapolis, attending daily Mass and leading his family in nightly rosary during different seasons of the year.
Many Scandinavian Catholics can tell similar stories. The vast majority of Swedes, Norwegians, Finns and Danes, who immigrated to Minnesota in the 19th and early 20th centuries, were Lutheran. Many who converted to Catholicism did so as they entered the American melting pot: by marrying a Catholic, often of German or Irish descent. As the northern European settlers have woven their traditions into the tapestry of Minnesota culture, those who have become Catholic have made lasting contributions to this archdiocese.
The Swedish make up the largest group of Scandinavians to settle in the area. Between 1850 and 1930, more than 1.3 million Swedes immigrated to Minnesota, the most to settle anywhere in the United States during that period, according to the book “Being Swedish American in the Twin Cities” by Philip J. Anderson and Dag Blanck. In 1910, Swedish Americans were the largest ethnic group in Minneapolis and Norwegian Americans were second. Swedish Americans made up the second-largest ethnic group in St. Paul.
In the archdiocese, two parishes especially reflect the heritage and contributions of Scandinavians: St. Olaf in Minneapolis and St. Bridget of Sweden in Lindstrom. St. Olaf, founded in 1941, was named for the patron of Norway, a Viking warrior and king who united Norway under Christ in the 11th century. The church commemorates St. Olaf because of Minneapolis’ large Scandinavian population.
St. Bridget of Sweden was established in 1948, the dream of Catholics in the area who had been meeting for Mass in private homes. The parish was founded in uncharted territory: a predominantly Swedish Lutheran community. Tensions were high in the beginning, parishioners said, but now the Catholic and Lutheran churches coexist peacefully, holding regular ecumenical prayer services.
In a Swedish town such as Lindstrom, there are many opportunities to celebrate Swedish traditions. Kathy Todd and her husband Robert’s two children are involved in Swedish dance. Her family, descended from Swedish and German ancestors, also takes part in the Santa Lucia pageant that takes place each year around Christmas at a local Lutheran church, she said.
The bonds of marriage didn’t always make it easy to blend faiths and ethnic backgrounds. When Paul Krave married Eunice, who was of German and Dutch descent, he left behind most of the traditions of his Swedish heritage and Covenant faith. He continued to make Swedish egg coffee every morning. Maybe because of his background, he never got used to the sacrament of reconciliation.
Chris Gustafson’s Swedish-American grandfather, Clarence Gustafson, also became Catholic after marrying a woman of German origin in the early 1940s. Gustafson, a member of the Cathedral of St. Paul, recalled that Clarence sort of “drifted into the Catholic faith” and that Catholicism was a struggle for him.
At one point, he went to a parish priest with another man to receive catechesis. The other man, a lawyer, accepted the teaching, while Clarence “couldn’t swallow it hook, line and sinker,” Gustafson said. Clarence’s children learned the Catholic faith from his wife, a staunch Catholic. But he passed on the art of making Swedish krumkake, a type of rolled Christmas cookie. Clarence, who served as mayor of Ladysmith, Wis., exhibited an “exuberant, goofy friendliness,” which is somewhat characteristic of Swedes, Gustafson said.
Whether they brought the faith with them from the “old country” or became Catholics after they arrived in Minnesota, Scandinavian settlers have enriched the archdiocese with their unique personalities and cultures.