Welcoming Team

The Welcoming Team is a group of volunteers working for the Catholic Diocese of Helsinki.

Part of the Welcoming Team concept is sharing a meal.

It is very important to welcome new members of our Church. Many people come to Finland from other countries and have their own backgrounds and cultures and getting a warm reception helps to find your place.

Based on the experiences of the current members of the Welcoming Team, we try to find the best ways to welcome newcomers so that they can 'feel at home' and not hesitate to be active in the Church. We want to encourage a sense of belonging in the Church, the Diocese and the Parish.

The Welcoming Team works in close cooperation with the priest(s) of your Parish. Father Antoine Lévy OP is the Moderator of the Welcoming Team, and as Moderator he works under the direct supervision of the Bishop.

Instructions will follow...

Is your Parish thinking of setting up its own local Welcoming Team? That's great!

We'll be adding to this page with a simple step-by-step guide to make the most of your welcoming efforts, but in the meantime you can get in touch with the Welcoming Team's contact person: Lucia Indren, +358 40 414 5861 or lucia.indren@studium.fi.

Helsinki Welcoming Team

We are based at the Studium Catholicum in Helsinki and on the second Sunday of the month we arrange a monthly gathering for people who are interested in the Catholic Church, whether old members or new members. The gatherings take place from 1.00 to 3.00 p.m at the Studium Catholicum (click here for directions). Each time there is an interesting programme: discussion, food, music/singing /dancing performances!

At the first gathering in April 2013 we heard a presentation about the Catholic Church in the Philippines, in May it was the Catholic Church in Indonesia and on June 9, there was a presentation of the Catholic Church in Vietnam. The autumn season started off with a presentation on the Church in the United Arab Emirates.

Programme in Helsinki

Presentations (in English and Finnish) on different themes on the second Sunday of each month at 13.00-15.00 at the Studium Catholicum.

Feb 14: 800 Years - Dominican Jubilee:
A brief History of the Order in Finland
March 13: The Jubilee of Mercy 2016 - Rediscovering Divine Mercy.
April 10: Ecology: Does it really matter?
May 29: Picnic at Kaivopuisto

Spring 2016 programme in pdf format

The Welcoming Team samples Vietnamese food.

Would you like to see more photos of Welcoming Team gatherings? You're in luck: just click here to check out the Welcoming Team page on the Studium.fi site.