EUROPE/DENMARK - A missionary in Denmark who serves the faithful from all over the world

Copenhagen (Agenzia Fides) - "Besides the Danish faithful, my parishioners come from practically all over the world: Vietnam, Japan, Philippines, India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Nigeria, Burundi, Somalia, Iraq, Lebanon, Poland, Spain, Italy, England, Norway, Lithuania, Brazil , Colombia, Mexico, Ecuador, United States, etc. I can say that my church is Catholic!", says Fr. Samuele Lando, an Italian priest who has been carrying out his mission in Denmark for years, in an interview with the Director of Agenzia Fides, Fr. Dinh Anh Nhue Nguyen.
Coming from the Neocatechumenal Way, Fr. Lando has a brother, Fr. Matteo, parish priest on the island of Djerba, in Tunisia.
Currently, Fr. Lando is parish priest of St Canute Lavard church, located in the town of Kongens Lyngby, north of Copenhagen. "The territory of my parish includes more or less five municipalities, which represents about 200,000 inhabitants, of whom 2,600 are Catholics (In Denmark there are about 5,800,000 inhabitants of whom 50,960 are Catholics)", explains the priest. "Near the church there is a Catholic primary school, which has 220 pupils, of whom about sixty are Catholic. In the parish territory there are also two convents of nuns, Benedictines and of the Most Precious Blood, two elderly Benedictine monks, who live with the Benedictine nuns, the Redemptoris Mater diocesan seminary, where I was formed, and the church where the Chaldean community meets".
Fr. Lando says that "I am the only priest in the parish, but I am not alone. Thank God I have a seminarian from my own seminary, Livio, who is also from Piedmont and who has completed his studies and is preparing for the diaconate. I think it would be impossible to be alone in the parish", underlines Father Lando. "Living together is not always easy, but it has its advantages. Jesus himself says that where two or three are gathered in his name, He is there. With him everything is possible".
Denmark has also experienced the lockdown caused by the pandemic. "When the pandemic started seriously, in March 2020, I had been a parish priest for just over six months in Ringsted, in a small church in the center of Sjælland, the island on which Copenhagen is located", recalls Fr. Landau. "The previous year, the Bishop had granted me a sabbatical year and I had made myself available to evangelize with a group of catechists of Caserta area in Campania. Back in Denmark, I lived in Roskilde, a half hour drive north of Ringsted, so that I would not be alone and live with another priest, and I was also serving as an assistant parish priest in Nestved, a half hour drive south of Ringsted, where I was helping the now elderly parish priest. I remember that we had to close the church and suddenly it was no longer possible to meet or visit people. I also used to go to Sweden once or twice a week to celebrate with my Neocatechumenal community. We also had plans to begin catechesis for adults in the parish of Vår Fralsare (Our Savior) in Malmo. Everything was canceled". But Fr. Lando was not discouraged because, he says, "helped by some parishioners, taking some inspiration from Cardinal Van Tuan when he was in prison, I then began to write a homily every day on the gospel of the mass of the day, which was then put on the parish web page, so as not to totally lose contact between us".
A perseverance that always accompanies Fr. Lando: Every day the greatest temptation is to abandon everything and leave Denmark. So I think that continuing to evangelize in these lands first of all means asking the Lord every day for the grace not to run away and not to lose hope in the face of failure". Fr. Lando takes an example from "Saint Ansgar (Oscar), the first evangelizer of these lands who was not very successful and encountered many difficulties. But the Lord spoke to him and gave him courage:" Do not worry, I will correct all your mistakes!". Saint Ansgar was patient and continued his mission without worrying about being successful. I think the Lord is calling me to keep this same line!", he concludes. (L.M.) (A.N.N.) (Agenzia Fides, 21/8/2021)

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