By Bénédicte Cedergren
OSLO — After five years of studies and priestly formation in Rome, Mathias Bruno Ledum was ordained a transitional deacon in the Cathedral of St. Olav in Norway on the Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul.
Having grown up in a small village in the Gudbrandsdal Valley in central Norway to a Norwegian father and Filipino mother, Deacon Ledum knew, like most Norwegians, about Sigrid Undset (1882-1949), best-known for her trilogy Kristin Lavransdatter about life in Norway in the Middle Ages.
However, what he didn’t realize until much later was that their respective journeys with the Catholic Church seem somehow intrinsically bound.
“During my first year in seminary, while I was doing some pastoral work in Oslo,” the newly ordained deacon told the Register, “a lady came up to me and asked: ‘Isn’t your last name Ledum? I think Sigrid Undset uses that name in one of her books.’”
Incredulous that his family would be mentioned by the renowned Norwegian author and Catholic convert, despite their geographical proximity — Undset lived just 18 miles from Deacon Ledum’s family — the young seminarian dismissed the idea of any connection.
“But a week after meeting her, the lady sent me a message saying that my family name was definitely mentioned in the second part of The Burning Bush, the second volume of Undset’s novel The Wild Orchid, which describes the author’s conversion through a fictional character, Paul Selmer.”
After some research, Deacon Ledum confirmed that both his family and their mountain cabin were mentioned in several of Undset’s biographical and fictional works, such as Happy Times in Norway. Not only had she written about them, but Undset had also known his family personally.
‘There Is Nothing More Norwegian Than to Be Catholic’
Her biographical books “are based on her own experience of encountering the faith and other Catholics abroad,” Deacon Ledum explained, noting that Rome was a very important city for her in her writing career. There, the Lutheran-born author saw how “vibrant and alive the Catholic faith was, how it was a part of people’s daily lives, compared to Lutheran Norway,” where, he added, people went to services once a year on Christmas or Easter.
After her conversion in 1924 — an event both sensational and scandalous at the time — “Undset immediately became a huge apologist,” Deacon Ledum recounted. “In many ways, she became the Norwegian G.K. Chesterton, as she used her career and writings to present the Catholic faith for the Norwegian public and show that there is no contradiction between being Norwegian and being Catholic.”
Because there were no Catholic priests at the time in Lillehammer, Undset’s hometown, she had, among others, a French Dominican based in Oslo come to her house to celebrate Mass. Undset, who soon became a Third Order Dominican, invited everyone who wanted to attend Mass to her house.
“Sigrid would also travel to Tretten, my hometown,” Deacon Ledum added, “where her godmother, Mathea Baadstø, the only Catholic in Tretten, lived, to attend Mass.”
“Today, it is a rest area along the road, but if you enter what used to be the chapel where Sigrid attended Mass in Tretten with Mathea, there are still pictures of Sigrid covering the walls, of Mass being celebrated in the cabin, of letters to Mathea, and pictures of priests and bishops.”
“It is wild to think that Catholicism in my hometown has been in front of me all this time, but that it took me 23 years before discovering it.”
“Sigrid has always resonated with my interest in all things Catholic,” Deacon Ledum added. “She was Norwegian, just like me; she received her intellectual formation from the Dominicans, as I did at the Angelicum in Rome; and used the media to evangelize — which I am trying to do as well through social media — to make the faith known to Norwegians, and to show that it is not something foreign, but, rather, that there is nothing more Norwegian than to be Catholic.”
A Fruit of Sigrid Undset’s Prayers
“Sigrid means a lot to Norwegian Catholicism,” Bishop Bernt Eidsvig of Oslo told the Register. “She received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1928, which was a very difficult time for the Church in Norway, with a lot of anti-Catholic propaganda.”
“Sigrid — a world-famous Norwegian woman, who had come to the Church by her own convictions — bravely writes against this anti-Catholic movement. She throws herself into the debate and remains very loyal to the Church.”
“She truly wrote brilliant things,” the Norwegian bishop added, “without reservations or doubts, which one cannot read while at the same time rejecting Catholicism or remaining neutral to it.”
Undset also created a prayer group, called “St. Eystein’s Association,” to pray for Norwegian vocations to the priesthood. “While it didn’t become a popular movement,” Bishop Eidsvig explained, “it still contributed to something really good.”
St. Eystein was the archbishop of Nidaros in northern Norway from 1161 to his death in 1188. An academic and personal friend of Thomas Becket, he attempted to strengthen the ties between Rome and the Catholic Church in Norway, where he established communities of Augustinian canons regular and rebuilt the Nidaros Cathedral to promote devotion to St. Olav.
“When I started my priestly studies in January 1980, I was the first seminarian in 10 years. Now, including Mathias, we have nine seminarians,” said Bishop Eidsvig, who in 2006 established Norway’s first Catholic seminary.
“He chose to name the seminary after St. Eystein, although it might have been more natural to name it after St. Olav, Norway’s patron saint,” Deacon Ledum commented. “He wanted to make that connection to Sigrid Undset and her incessant prayers for vocations.”
“We see her as one of our seminary’s patrons, and I am sure that she still prays a lot for Norway. Hopefully, she is happy that someone from her home parish finally heard the call,” Ledum added. “It’s crazy to think that, in some ways, Sigrid Undset prayed for my vocation.”
Eagerness to Serve
After completing five years of philosophical and theological studies in Rome, Ledum was ordained a deacon on the Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul — clothed in the dalmatic belonging to a High Mass set of vestments that Undset had donated in 1930 to the Catholic chapel at Stiklestad, for the 900th jubilee of the martyrdom of St. Olav.
“Having spent five years in the Eternal City, it could hardly be more fitting to be ordained on their feast day,” Ledum said, “and to be able to bring a piece of Rome home to Norway.”
Attended by primary-school teachers, childhood friends from his village, catechists, friends from university, priests, brothers, seminarians and friends from different countries, as well as relatives from Norway and the Philippines, there was barely any room left to stand inside the Cathedral of St. Olav once Mass began.
“I am very impressed by all our seminarians, including Mathias,” Bishop Eidsvig told the Register. “Mathias has strong pastoral and liturgical instincts. He is a very kind person, easy to talk to, and is receiving the attention he deserves because of the person he is.”
“When you see someone like Mathias becoming a deacon, I would find it very strange if there were no people hoping to be like him, in his serving of others. I would like to think that he inspires many others, and I see that he leaves a great impression on the young altar servers.”
Reflecting on the many changes his ordination entails, Mathias is looking with joy and eagerness to serve as a deacon in Norway, where Catholics represent 3.5% of the population.
“Reading the Gospel at Mass, preaching, baptizing, marrying couples, blessing homes. … These are things that I have been looking forward to doing long before I entered seminary, so it will be a great gift to finally be able to serve the Church and the faithful in an even more concrete way through the administration of sacraments and sacramentals, diaconal work and preaching.”
Fulfilling the Deepest Longings of Our Hearts
“Over the past year,” the newly ordained deacon added, “I have been increasingly reminded that this is not about me. The priesthood is not something that belongs to me or something I have a right to claim. It is truly a great gift, one that I can never earn.”
“As Bishop Bernt often reminds us,” Deacon Ledum added, “vocations can only be the fruit of prayer. In my own journey, it has required a lot of prayer, both my own and from others who have prayed that I might follow my calling.”
“Three years after my mother passed away, I discovered that, throughout her life, she had quietly prayed for my potential vocation to the priesthood without ever mentioning it to me. I am eternally grateful for her prayers, and I believe she continues to pray and cheer for me just as fervently now.”
The life of Mathias, who grew up dreaming of becoming a drummer in a metal band or a professional skateboarder, has now forever taken on a new direction.
Inspired by the many priests he met — both in Norway and abroad — who had freely given up all the pleasures and comforts of life, yet who seemed to have “a deep, genuine joy and peace,” Deacon Ledum is eager to follow in their footsteps. He will be ordained to the priesthood on June 28, 2025.
“I am confident that God only calls us to something that will fulfill the deepest longings of our hearts. The discernment process must focus on whether there is alignment between one’s personal will and his will.”
“On the brink of this six-year-long ‘engagement’ with the Church,” Deacon Ledum added, “I feel confident, calm, eager and at peace in saying that my heart continues to yearn to be fully devoted to him. I cannot help but respond to his call to be in this special, intimate union with him as his priest.”
This story was first published by National Catholic Register, EWTN Norway’s news partner.
