Editorial, Fides 1/2026, p. 2. 13 February 2026.
The year has changed and we have set out once more. In the life of the Church we are approaching Lent and Easter, when it is surely fitting to remember in a special way Pope Francis, who died on Easter Monday last year, and to give thanks to God for the new Pope Leo, whose first year as the visible head of the universal Church and Successor of Saint Peter will then reach its completion.
At the same time, we can also look at the life of our local Church. The membership statistics soon to be published will reveal that parish membership continues to grow, and with it grows the need to find ever new ways to encounter the Catholic faithful of our country where they live. With the new membership register, they — we — will of course be found more effectively, but it is good to ask how the Church’s work might become visible and “tangible” even in places where it has not previously been accessible. Dedicated people are needed — priests, religious, and lay faithful, both paid staff and volunteers — so that our common Church may encounter every Catholic and every person in need of the Church’s pastoral care. And yes, financial resources are also needed, the central source of which is the parish membership contribution.
The Church is growing, the Church is needed, the Church must be able to do more and to be more present. This is the perspective that should be heard and seen in our activity. For this reason, Bishop Raimo encourages us and calls us together, calling us to follow Christ faithfully, to place our hope entirely in Him, and at the same time to rely on the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint Henry, Blessed Hemming, and many other saints.
After the turn of the year, the diocese’s new Pastoral Centre also began its work, bringing together those engaged in catechesis and religious education, publishing, media work, and liturgy. Cooperation will become easier, and we hope that the centre will be of great assistance to parish life as well. The spreading of the Church’s Good News — the new evangelization — is close to the Bishop’s heart and surely lies at the very heart of the synodal process. To this work we are all called, not only to receive something, but also to give.
May we grow as a Church this year, not only numerically but above all by strengthening our communion within our own parish and with one another.
Marko Tervaportti