Dominican Footprints in Scandinavia

Extract

Between Stockholm and Upsala, in one of the occasional clearances amongst Sweden’s seemingly eternal forests towards the northern end of the great Lake Malar, lies the lovely village of Sigtuna, the cradle of the Dominican Order in all Scandinavia where, at the time of the Reformation, the Dominican Province (Provincia Daciae) counted forty-three houses of friars and four of nuns. It is, beyond question, one of the most interesting places historically in northern Europe. In this small settlement three massive ecclesiastical stone-built ruins attract attention, the broken tower of the Church of Saint Lawrence and the fortress-like churches of Saint Olaf and of Saint Peter with their chancels roofless but otherwise intact. The last-mentioned church was the cathedral of the bishopric of Sigtuna which early in the twelfth century was split into two dioceses, Weteraos and Upsala.

But if these three ancient relics of Sweden’s early and vigorous Catholicity call for notice, another in Sigtuna commands it. The church of St. Mary, as it is called, is a building of clamorous pink brick, looking scarce more than a decade of years old when viewed from a short distance. When, however, we get close up to it, it shows by the lines of its door and window arches signs of considerable age, and the interior clearly demonstrates its birth in the thirteenth century. It is no other, in fact, than the ancient Dominican Church of Sigtuna, now used as the state or Lutheran place of worship. This explains its intense state of preservation.