Estonia marked a historic milestone for its small Catholic community on Saturday, as a beatification Mass for Archbishop Eduard Profittlich SJ (1890–1942) was celebrated on Freedom Square in Tallinn—the first beatification ever held in the country. Profittlich is the first person associated with Estonia to be raised to the altars by the Catholic Church.

Tallinn’s Bishop Philippe Jourdan called the day “a great gift not only for the Catholic Church in Estonia, but for the entire Catholic Church and Estonian society,” praising Profittlich’s fidelity to Christ and his love for Estonia “unto martyrdom” as a living example of hope, courage, and charity for all Christians. The beatification, originally planned for May 17, 2025, was postponed following the death of Pope Francis and the election of Pope Leo XIV on May 8.

The liturgy was presided over by Cardinal Christoph Schönborn of Vienna, serving as papal envoy. Concelebrants included Cardinal Stanisław Dziwisz of Kraków; Archbishop Georg Gänswein, the apostolic nuncio to the Baltic states; Bishop Philippe Jourdan of Tallinn; and Bishop Stephan Ackermann of Trier. Music was provided by the choir of Tallinn’s Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul under the direction of Pille Raitmaa.

Born in Germany, Eduard Profittlich moved to independent Estonia in the 1930s, took Estonian citizenship, and served as the country’s apostolic administrator before being ordained an archbishop. Though not Estonian by birth, he was often described as “Estonian by the blood he shed.” After the first Soviet occupation in 1940, Profittlich chose to remain with his flock. Arrested in 1941 on charges of being a “Vatican agent,” he died in prison in Kirov in 1942, steadfast in his faith to the end.

Bishop Jourdan described the new blessed’s witness as a powerful testament to virtues that transcend nationality, language, and politics. “He chose to share the tragic fate of tens of thousands of Estonians deported and lost in Soviet camps,” the bishop said, adding that Profittlich was Estonian “not by inherited blood, but by the blood he shed.”

Commemorations continued in Tallinn with a continuous reading, from today through tomorrow, of the names of 22,600 Estonian victims of communism in the chapter house of the Dominican priory. On Sunday, September 7, two thanksgiving Masses will be celebrated at the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul, including one in Polish.