Beatification of Archbishop Eduard Profittlich S.J.

In September 6, 2025, a historic and unique event will take place in Tallinn – the beatification of Archbishop Eduard Profittlich. This is a great joy for the entire Catholic community and all those who value the testimony of faith and fidelity. 

Eduard Gottlieb Profittlich S.J. (September 11, 1890, Birresdorf – February 22, 1942, Kirov) was a German Catholic priest, Jesuit, and from 1931 the Apostolic Governor of the Estonian Catholic Church, and from 1936 its bishop. Profittlich was a recognized preacher and pastor. He began publishing religious literature in Estonian and founded the Estonian Catholic magazine "Kiriku Elu" (Catholic Life). He also tried to change the image of the Catholic Church and open it towards Estonians.

During the Soviet occupation of Estonia in 1940, Profittlich approached the German embassy in order to send Catholic priests and nuns to Germany, while he himself remained in Tallinn. After the Third Reich attacked the Soviet Union, he was arrested on 27 June 1941 and deported to Russia, where he was sentenced to death on 21 November. He died in Kirov prison before the sentence could be carried out. His death was only confirmed by the Estonian Supreme Court on 12 June 1990, just a few weeks after Estonia regained its independence from the Soviet Union. The Court later posthumously acquitted him and other church figures of the charges.

Archbishop Profittlich was prepared to accept martyrdom for his faith. In a letter to relatives and acquaintances dated 8 February 1941, he wrote that the place of a shepherd is around his flock, where he shares with them both joys and sufferings. He wrote that it is a great joy to experience the presence of God, to whom he has given everything, and that he is ready to give his whole life to God: 'My life - and if necessary, my death - is life and death for Christ.'

According to the Estonian Foreign Ministry, Profittlich's ten-year stay in Estonia was critical for the survival of the church during the decades of Soviet rule. The process of his beatification was initiated by the the Bishops' Conference of the Russian Federation on 30 January 2002, along with several other church figures. After the Congregation for the Causes of Saints granted the nihil obstat on 30 May 2003 an ecclesiastical procedure was opened in Saint Petersburg for his beatification. The beatification documents reached the Congregation in Rome and were validated on 12 June 2020. The late Pope Francis acknowledged Profittlich's martyrdom in December 2024.

The beatification event is supported, among others, by the Embassy of Hungary in Tallinn. See more about the program through this link.