In Eastern Uusimaa lies the venerable, 451-year-old municipality of Lapinjärvi, whose boundaries also encompass the present-day village of Porlammi and its surroundings. Porlammi is known not only for the cheeses produced by its dairy, but, at least in Christian circles, also for the idyllic San Damiano, run by Pauli Annala and Eeva Vitikka-Annala.
I am not entirely sure whether San Damiano in Porlammi should be called a community, a cooperative or something else, but it is certainly a spiritual, Catholic and Franciscan meeting place. It has taken both its name and its model of activity from Franciscan spirituality and the early history of the Franciscan movement. Every guest is warmly welcomed, and each person’s spiritual path is respected.
On the second weekend of September, a group of active members of Juventus Catholica also gathered at San Damiano. Through lectures by Dr Pauli Annala and Masses celebrated by Father Pedro Perez, they had an opportunity to explore the rich and, in fact, surprisingly humane and realistic Christian understanding of the human person’s place in the world, our responsibility for creation, and the immense importance of forgiving both others and ourselves. How trapped are so many people who are unable to forgive, Father Pedro asked in his homily at Sunday Mass.
As a former president of Juventus Catholica in the 1990s, it was a joy and an honour for me to get to know the young Catholics who were there a little better. The president, Karl Sukta, and a few others were still at San Damiano for Sunday lunch. Conversation around the lunch table was lively and ranged from one subject to another. Once again, it became clear that differences in age and background are no obstacle to interesting and rewarding conversation – quite the contrary. We Catholics come in many varieties – among 1.4 billion people, there are certainly plenty to choose from – and so too do our ways of believing, our experiences and our stories of faith. What matters, perhaps, is our trust in God’s promises, the love we are able to show through our actions, and the freedom from worldly bonds that only placing faith above ideologies can offer.
Marko Tervaportti
– Juventus Catholica: juventuscatholica.fi
– San Damiano, Porlammi, Tuurintie 8, 07820 Porlammi. You can join the mailing list for news and information about upcoming events at: sandamiano2021@gmail.com