Ithaca Team

What is the Ithaca Team?

The Ithaca Team, formed after the Diocesan Forum in late 2012, is a group of volunteers working to improve communications within and between parishes in the Catholic Diocese of Helsinki.

Who are we?

We are all Catholics of good standing, mostly lay people but there are also a couple of priests in the team.

We do our volunteer work with the blessing and support of the Bishop of Helsinki, Teemu Sippo SCJ, but we - and this site - are not official representatives of the Catholic Church in Finland.

The Ithaca Team's current leader is Sara Torvalds. You can reach the team by e-mail on ithaca.katolinen@gmail.com. We've also set up a Facebook page for this site and here's a presentation page so you'll know who to look for at a church coffee...

The Ithaca Team aims to serve the entire Diocese of Helsinki, which covers all of Finland, but is based at the Studium Catholicum in Helsinki and benefits from the active support and involvement of the Studium Catholicum.

Below is the poem Ithaca by Constantine P. Cavafy that gave the group its name. Prefer to read it in the original Greek? Click here.

When you set out on your journey to Ithaca,
pray that the road is long,
full of adventure, full of knowledge.
The Lestrygonians and the Cyclops,
the angry Poseidon -- do not fear them:
You will never find such as these on your path,
if your thoughts remain lofty, if a fine
emotion touches your spirit and your body.
The Lestrygonians and the Cyclops,
the fierce Poseidon you will never encounter,
if you do not carry them within your soul,
if your soul does not set them up before you.

Pray that the road is long.
That the summer mornings are many, when,
with such pleasure, with such joy
you will enter ports seen for the first time;
stop at Phoenician markets,
and purchase fine merchandise,
mother-of-pearl and coral, amber and ebony,
and sensual perfumes of all kinds,
as many sensual perfumes as you can;
visit many Egyptian cities,
to learn and learn from scholars.

Always keep Ithaca in your mind.
To arrive there is your ultimate goal.
But do not hurry the voyage at all.
It is better to let it last for many years;
and to anchor at the island when you are old,
rich with all you have gained on the way,
not expecting that Ithaca will offer you riches.

Ithaca has given you the beautiful voyage.
Without her you would have never set out on the road.
She has nothing more to give you.

And if you find her poor, Ithaca has not deceived you.
Wise as you have become, with so much experience,
you must already have understood what Ithacas mean.

Constantine P. Cavafy (1911)