Dear brothers and sisters!
On 22 February, 79 years will pass since the death of Archbishop Eduard Profittlich in the Kirov prison camp. We certainly cannot expect this to be the last anniversary of the archbishop’s death before his beatification. But we have reason to hope that this will be one of the last ones before the end of the process of his beatification, and that the Estonian Catholic Church will not have to wait when for the first time one of its members is included among the blessed and saints of the Catholic Church. Therefore, on the eve of this anniversary, we can thank God especially for the faithfulness of Archbishop Profittlich, which was faithfulness until his death. His holiness is not limited to death for Christ, but concerns all his work, words, personal example, and virtues that Estonian Catholics were able to see and witness. And more importantly, the purpose of the beatification is not only to remind us of the virtues and heroism of our predecessors, but to remind us that every Christian, without exception, is called to holiness, and that holiness is possible in the life of every Christian.
Therefore, I encourage you to remember Eduard Profittlich, the Servant of God, in your prayers and thoughts. The Church encourages us to turn to the intercession of those who have already left us, especially when they have responded especially well to God’s grace in their lifetime. When asking for his intercession by reading Archbishop Profittlich’s prayer card or novena, we will certainly not turn to God less, but, on the contrary, we will please God because we give Him glory for the people to whom He has given grace to live holy. We certainly have a lot of needs and reasons to ask and pray for the whole world, but since the archbishop sacrificed his life for the love of Estonia and Estonian Catholics, it is natural that we turn to him just when we pray for Estonia, for the Catholic Church in Estonia and for everything we need here. If a person has loved the Estonian Catholic Church so much on earth, it is natural to think that this love will grow even greater in heaven.
I am very grateful to those who are ready to send a written testimony of their turning to Archbishop Profittlich’s intercession to the postulator of the beatification process of Archbishop Profittlich. This is one of the important elements of the process of beatification. I am also very grateful to everyone who helps us cover the costs of this process. Such processes take a long time (already 18 years in the case of Archbishop Profittlich) and are extremely thorough and therefore quite costly. We are currently actively working in both Tallinn and Rome on the so-called positio, that is, on compiling a summary of the materials of the process – based on which the final decision on the beatification will be made.
We ask, under the intercession of Archbishop Eduard Profittlich, that the fast that is beginning will fill our hearts with grace, and that this prayer will, with God’s help, give us the health of both body and soul.
Bishop Philippe Jourdan
