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SVD Presence in Norway: Eight Years of Mission Among Migrants
Anthony Erragudi, SVD
Today the SVD community in Oslo consists of three confreres: Fr. Piotr Śledź SVD, who worked 16 years in Africa before arriving in Norway; Fr. Anthony Erragudi SVD, from India, currently Assistant Parish Priest in St. Olav Cathedral; and Fr. Hubert Łucjanek SVD, who has been working in St. Hallvard Parish for the past four years, particularly with Polish migrants and in family pastoral care. Together, they also assist surrounding parishes and religious communities, living out the Verbite charism of serving the Word among migrants.
On September 24, 2025, during the annual four-day diocesan priests’ meeting held at Mariaholm Pastoral Center, 70 priests of 15 different nationalities gathered to address pastoral, canonical, and financial matters of the diocese, with particular attention to preparations for the millennium of Catholicism in Norway in 2030, commemorating the martyrdom of St. Olav, patron of Norway.
This meeting also included the election of the Council of Priests, the diocesan “senate” which represents the clergy and advises the bishop. Three priests were elected for two-year terms and three for four-year terms. Fr. Anthony Erragudi SVD was elected to a four-year term. He had previously served on the diocesan pastoral council.
In July 2025, the Diocese of Oslo experienced an important transition: Bishop Bernt Eidsvig, Can. Reg., resigned for health reasons and will return to his congregation in Austria on September 29. He is succeeded by Bishop Fredrik Hansen, who has already reached out to the SVD Polish Province regarding the possible future responsibility of another parish in the diocese.
Fr. Anthony expressed his gratitude and hope: “The new bishop Fredrik contacted our Polish Province soon after he took over the diocese, regarding the possibility of entrusting us with another parish. This will most likely take place after the election of the new provincial council. It will indeed be good news for our Society in this northernmost part of the world.”
The presence of the Divine Word Missionaries in Norway, though still young, continues to grow as a living witness of the Society’s charism: to proclaim the Word of God, to walk with migrants, and to serve the Church in her multicultural diversity.
