Sweden: Jan Byström, husband and father, formerly a Lutheran pastor, ordained Catholic priest of the diocese of Stockholm

Jan Byström, 68, formerly a pastor in the Church of Sweden, a psychotherapist by profession, a husband and a father, was ordained priest in St Eric’s Cathedral in Stockholm on Saturday 8th May by card. Anders Arborelius. The news has just been posted on the website of the Swedish diocese. Byström, who will practise his ministry in Uppsala, in the parish of St. Lars, 3 thousand inhabitants and 75 nationalities, had been ordained deacon in the city where he lives on 6th March. In presenting him before his ordination, the Jesuit father Ulf Jonsson stated that it is precisely “his many years working as a Catholic layman in the parish of St. Lars, in Uppsala, that ensure he is also a vir probatus, suitable for being ordained priest”. In the sermon, card. Arborelius listed the responsibilities that Byström will have as the shepherd of a flock (this was the theme of the Gospel): “Helping many people find out how close Jesus is to them in their ordinary and slightly boring lives”, “giving hope and confidence through the Sacraments”, “releasing people from the tyranny of sin through Confession”, teaching “to listen to God’s Word so that it may become the personal guide” of believers.
Valentina Bombelli