On 8 June, a solemn yet warm ceremony took place at St Henry’s Cathedral, where our parishioner Rauni Vornanen, now approaching her hundredth birthday, received from Bishop Raimo the “Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice – For the Church and the Pope” Cross of Merit awarded to her by Pope Leo XIV.
“Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice” is one of the highest distinctions that can be awarded to a Catholic Christian as a mark of honour and gratitude. It is always important that a culture of ingratitude should not prevail in our Church, but that those who voluntarily, inspired by their faith and dedication, work for the good of the Church and for the common good of us all should also receive the thanks they deserve, a visible recognition of their service. As Bishop Raimo said in his homily, such a cross of merit is not only a gesture of thanks to one person, but to all of us together.
As if by coincidence – or by Providence – the ordinary Gospel reading of the day was Jesus’ Beatitudes from the Gospel according to Matthew: “Blessed are …” (Matt 5:1–12).
Rauni Vornanen was born in the late 1920s in Mikkeli, where her father served as an officer. At that time, the city still belonged to St Hyacinth’s Parish in Vyborg. Her mother, Gertrud Müllender, was of German origin and was in her time a prominent figure known to many in the Church. As a child, Rauni attended the Catholic school run by the Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The pupils would walk behind the sisters, their veils fluttering, along Albertinkatu in Helsinki to receive religious instruction from Bishop Willem Cobben himself at the bishop’s residence in Eira.
Rauni Vornanen completed a Master of Arts degree in aesthetics, literary studies and Finnish in the 1950s. Before that, already in the 1940s, she had helped to found Juventus Catholica, the Catholic organisation for Finnish-speaking young people, which has once again become active in recent years. During the 1950s and 1960s, she served as secretary and chair of Academicum Catholicum. She has many stories, some of them quite amusing, from those years and from Nordic cooperation. In the 1960s and 1970s, she worked as an editor for the diocesan magazine Kellojen Kutsu, the predecessor of today’s Fides. During those years she also reported on the Second Vatican Council for Finnish national newspapers and participated in translating the Council’s official documents into Finnish.
As a journalist, she worked for Finnish weekly magazines, including Suomen Kuvalehti and Hopeapeili. She later served as a communications officer for the Finnish National Board of Roads and Waterways and as editor-in-chief of its publication. At the same time, for many years she was a linguistic expert member of our diocese’s liturgical commission and a member of the pastoral council of St Henry’s Parish.
After her retirement, Rauni Vornanen served as an inspiring and knowledgeable guide at St Henry’s Cathedral. A world traveller, she has had a particular love for Greece and the Mediterranean, about which she has published several books, ranging from works on Greek folk dances to practical travel guides. Her publications also include guides to good Finnish usage and, finally, her autobiography.
Warmest congratulations to Rauni Vornanen!
Markku Koponen
The Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice Cross of Merit
Among the honours of the Catholic Church, the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice Cross is a familiar sight around the world at solemn occasions, worn by many active laypeople and priests. As its name indicates, it is a papal distinction awarded for service to the Church and the Pope.
Pope Leo XIII instituted the decoration in July 1888 to mark the 50th anniversary of his priestly ordination, and it was initially awarded to those who had participated in organising the jubilee celebrations. Pope Pius X simplified the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice Cross in 1908, when it became a decoration awarded in gold, as it is known today.
The present design of the Cross dates from a reform by Pope Paul VI in the early 1970s and has subsequently been modified slightly. The front of the Cross depicts the Apostles Peter and Paul, symbols of the Church of Rome and the apostolic faith. The reverse bears the emblem of the Holy See. The white and yellow ribbon reflects the colours of the Vatican. The current and most recent version has been in use since the pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI: the personal papal coat of arms that formerly appeared on the upper arm of the front of the Cross was removed, emphasising the decoration’s enduring connection with the See of Peter rather than with an individual pope.
The Cross of Merit is also historically significant because, until 1993, it was the highest distinction that a woman could receive from the Holy See. In Finland, the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice Cross was previously awarded relatively rarely but regularly to parishioners until the mid-1990s, when the tradition came to an end. Rauni Vornanen is the first new recipient of the Cross of Merit in our diocese in thirty years.
In practice, the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice Cross continues to be awarded in recognition of long and distinguished service to a parish, a diocese or the Church as a whole, whether that service is carried out by a priest, a member of a religious order or a layperson. It reminds us that the life of the Church is built to a great extent upon precisely the kind of faithful service of which this Cross is a sign.
Ilpo Koukku
Text of the diploma:
POPE LEO XIV
has seen fit to confer upon
MRS RAUNI TALVIKKI VORNANEN
the honourable decoration of the Cross “Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice – For the Church and the Pope” for her exceptional merits and faithful service, granting her at the same time the right to wear this Cross of Honour on all appropriate occasions.
Given at the Vatican on the seventeenth day of April
in the year 2026.Certified by the Assessor
Prelate Anthony Onyemuche Ekpo