History
Prior to the Reformation in Sweden, there were a number of Catholic dioceses, including the former dioceses of Linköping, Lund, Sigtuna, Skara, Strängnäs, Västerås, Växjö. By 1550, all of the episcopates of the Catholic bishops in Sweden, including present-day Finland, came to an end. [3] Following the reformation, most of these dioceses were reinstated as parts of the Church of Sweden.
In 1582, any remaining Catholics in Sweden and elsewhere in Northern Europe were placed under the jurisdiction of a papal nuncio in Cologne. The Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, on its establishment in 1622, took charge of the vast missionary field, which—at its third session—was divided among the nuncio of Brussels (for the Catholics in Denmark and Norway), the nuncio at Cologne (much of Northern Germany), and the nuncio to Poland (Sweden and Mecklenburg).
In 1688 Sweden became part of the Apostolic Vicariate of the Nordic Missions and the German Paderborn bishops functioned as administrators of the apostolic vicariate. In 1781 the Vicariate of the Nordic Missions was split, and the Apostolic Prefecture of Sweden was established, which jurisdiction over Sweden and Finland. On 23 September 1783 the apostolic prefecture was promoted to the Apostolic Vicariate of Sweden, seated in the Swedish capital Stockholm. The newly Vicariate of Sweden was entitled to a titular bishop, but the positions appears to have been left vacant until 1862. Over the course of its authority, the Vicariate had jurisdiction over the territory of Sweden, Finland, and Norway. Finland was split off in 1809, becoming part of the Russian-imperial Mohilev Archdiocese. Norway became part of the Vicariate in 1834; its northern regions were split off in 1855 to become the Apostolic Prefecture of the North Pole while the southern regions were split off on 7 August 1868, eventually forming the Apostolic Prefecture of Norway.
On 29 June 1953 the Apostolic Vicariate of Sweden was promoted to Diocese Stockholm, named after its see, while the same diocesan status was given in Norway to the new bishopric of Oslo. The diocese was visited by Pope John Paul II in June 1989 and by Pope Francis in October/November 2016.
The Church of Sweden is an Evangelical Lutheran national church in Sweden. A former state church, headquartered in Uppsala, with around 5.4 million members at year end 2023, it is the largest Christian denomination in Sweden, the largest Lutheran denomination in Europe and the third-largest in the world, after the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania.
The Catholic Church in Sweden is part of the worldwide Catholic Church in communion with the Pope in Rome. It was established by Archbishop Ansgar in Birka in 829, and further developed by the Christianization of Sweden in the 9th century. King Olof Skötkonung is considered the first Christian king of Sweden.
The Diocese of Växjö is one of 13 dioceses within the Lutheran Church of Sweden. It's episcopal see is located in the city of Växjö. The diocese was established in the 12th century as a Roman Catholic bishopric, but was taken over by the Church of Sweden as a result of the Protestant Reformation in Sweden.
The Archdiocese of Uppsala is one of the thirteen dioceses of the Church of Sweden and the only one having the status of an archdiocese.
The Diocese of Skara is the oldest existing diocese in Sweden. It was originally a Latin bishopric of the Roman Catholic church, but since the Protestant Reformation has been a Lutheran diocese within the Church of Sweden, with its seat in Skara at Skara Cathedral. In 2014, it celebrated its 1000-year anniversary as a full diocese.
The Diocese of Lund is a diocese within the Church of Sweden which corresponds to the provinces of Blekinge and Skåne. There are 217 parishes within the diocese, the most significant number in any of the dioceses of the Church of Sweden. The present bishop of Lund, Johan Tyrberg, succeeded Antje Jackelén in 2014.
The Diocese of Linköping is a diocese within the Church of Sweden administering the Östergötland County, the north eastern part of Jönköping County and the northern part of Kalmar County. It comprises nine deaneries subdivided into 176 parishes with a total of 443,000 members. The diocese's largest parish is Motala. The Diocese of Linköping has a rank directly below the Archdiocese of Uppsala of the Church of Sweden. The current bishop is Marika Markovits.
The Diocese of Västerås is a diocese within the Church of Sweden. Its Episcopal see is located in Västerås at Västerås Cathedral. The diocese was first established in the 12th century as part of the Roman Catholic church, but was made part of the Church of Sweden as a result of the Protestant Reformation in Sweden.
The Diocese of Strängnäs is a part of the Lutheran Church of Sweden and has its seat in Strängnäs Cathedral in Strängnäs, south of Lake Mälaren. The diocese is made up of the two provinces Närke and Södermanland.
The Diocese of Copenhagen is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church named after its episcopal see, the Danish national capital, Copenhagen and covers all Denmark. As in neighbouring provinces, none of the pre-Reformation bishoprics were re-established after Lutheranism became the new official state church in the 16th century). The diocese also covers two Danish overseas possessions, the Faroe Islands and Greenland. It is estimated that 36,000 (0.7%) out of the 5,516,597 inhabitants of the diocesan territory are Catholics.
The Nordic Bishops' Conference is an episcopal conference of Roman Catholic bishops covering the Nordic countries of Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark and Iceland.
The Catholic Church in Norway is part of the worldwide Catholic Church. As of May 2014, there were over 151,000 registered Catholics in Norway. It is claimed there are many Catholics who are not registered with their personal identification number and who are not reported by the local church; the full number may be as high as 230,000, 70% of whom were born abroad. That constitutes about 5% of the population, making Norway the most Catholic country in Nordic Europe.
The Diocese of Helsinki is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church based in Helsinki, which comprises the whole of Finland. The diocese is divided into eight parishes. As of 2018, there are 15,000 registered and 10,000 unregistered Catholics living in Finland. There are more than 6,000 Catholic families in the country; 50 percent are Finnish and 50 percent are of international origin.
The Vicariate Apostolic of Northern Germany, known for most of its existence as the Vicariate Apostolic of the NorthernMissions, was a Catholic missionary jurisdiction established on 28 April 1667. It belonged to a vicar apostolic in predominantly Protestant Northern Europe.
The Prince-Bishopric of Minden was an ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire. It was progressively secularized following the Protestant Reformation when it came under the rule of Protestant rulers, and by the Peace of Westphalia of 1648 given to Brandenburg as the Principality of Minden. It must not be confused with the Roman Catholic diocese of Minden, which was larger, and over which the prince-bishop exercised spiritual authority.
The Roman Catholic Territorial Prelature of Trondheim Is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Catholic Church, located in Norway. Before March 1979, it was known as the Apostolic Vicariate of Central Norway.
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dar-es-Salaam is a Latin Metropolitan archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church in Tanzania.
The Territorial Prelature of Tromsø is a Catholic territorial prelature located in the city of Tromsø in Norway. The territory is divided into 7 parishes located in the following sites: Tromsø, Bodø, Hammerfest, Harstad, Mosjøen, Narvik and Storfjord.
The Diocese of Oslo is an exempt Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church located in the city of Oslo in Norway.
Trivial schools were schools in Sweden and its integrated part Finland from the early 17th century, in Sweden to 1905.
Sweden 
10,290,832
1.2%)
