Homily in the Lutheran Eucharistic service in Honour of Saint Henry, Rome, Jan. 19, 2026.
Your Excellencies, dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
we give thanks to God that He has called us together to celebrate this liturgy in this beautiful church of Santa Maria dell’Anima. This church carries our thoughts back to the time when it was built, at the same time when Martin Luther was staying in Rome. We can imagine him walking near these streets and carrying this church and the people who gathered here in his prayers.
Now we stand here together—Lutherans, Orthodox, and Catholics—before the same Lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks to God for the faith that unites us and seeking ever deeper communion in Christ.
Today we celebrate here in Rome the feast of Saint Henry, the patron saint of Finland, and we do so at a special time: the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. This is no coincidence. Saint Henry does not belong to only one nation or one tradition; rather, he is a figure who calls all of us—Christians of different denominations—to look in the same direction and to walk together towards visible unity in Christ.
In the first reading, the prophet Isaiah cries out: “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the one who brings good news!” Saint Henry was precisely such a bearer of good news. He brought the message of peace, salvation, and hope to the North, to Finland—not in his own name, but as one sent by Christ. His steps were not merely a geographical journey but a spiritual pilgrimage: obedience to God’s will, fidelity to the Gospel, and the courage to bring God’s work to completion, even when it demanded everything.
The Psalm exhorts us: “Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God… imitate their faith.” Today we remember Saint Henry as just such a leader. His faith was not a theory or an ideology, but a lived reality. He trusted that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. This conviction gave him the strength to sow the seed of the Gospel in a new land and to leave the harvest in God’s hands.
In the Gospel, Jesus says: “My food is to do the will of Him who sent me.” These words also reveal the secret of Saint Henry’s life. He did not come seeking his own glory or success, but to fulfil the will of the Father. He sowed; others reaped. He gave his life, and his martyr’s blood became—so beautifully it is said—the baptismal water of Finland. What he did not see with his own eyes grew and bore fruit in the lives of future generations.
It is precisely here that Saint Henry speaks to us from the perspective of unity. Christian unity does not come about in an instant, nor is it the project of a single generation. “One sows, another reaps.” Today we stand on the work of many who have gone before us. Saint Henry calls us to honour this inheritance and to continue the work—not in competition, but together, rejoicing in the same harvest that is destined for eternal life.
During the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, Saint Henry stands before us as a unifying figure. His life reminds us that visible unity is not a compromise of the truth, but a deeper fidelity to Jesus and to His timeless teaching. Unity is born of shared obedience to Christ, a shared desire to proclaim the Gospel purely and in love, and a shared witness to the world.
Today, here in Rome—far from the lakes and forests of Finland, yet close to the tombs of the apostles and martyrs—we are invited to dream together. To dream of visible unity, in which Christians can recognise in one another the disciples of the same Lord. To dream of a Church that is faithful to the Gospel and courageous in her mission.
Let us make a spiritual decision today: we want to be instruments of unity, as Saint Henry was. We may not be called to martyrdom, but we are called to the faithfulness of the martyrs—faithfulness in prayer, in truth, in love, and in mutual respect. Let us allow God to reveal the power of His holy arm also in our time, so that the ends of the earth may see the salvation that our God brings.
Holy Virgin Mary, pray for us, that we may remain faithful to your Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ.
Saint Henry, patron of Finland and faithful servant of the Gospel, pray for us, that we may be one in Christ. Amen.
+ Raimo Goyarrola
Catholic Bishop of Helsinki