Pope Leo XIV has asked a bestselling monk to preach his spiritual exercises. His name is Erik Varden.
His reflections have reached every corner of the planet through his literary works. His spiritual writings carry a sober style and address transcendent themes in human history, such as loneliness, emptiness, chastity, suffering, and spiritual weariness.
He is currently Bishop of Trondheim, Norway, and in 2024, he was elected president of the Scandinavian Bishops’ Conference.
Although he is now well known in broad sectors of the Church, his relationship with faith came rather late in life. He grew up in a non-practicing Norwegian family and spent his entire adolescence declaring himself an agnostic.
However, after discovering Mahler’s Resurrection Symphony, he was greatly moved and decided to set to work to find greater meaning in his own life. He ultimately found that meaning in religion and converted to Christianity.
It was in 2002 that he entered the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance, becoming a Trappist monk and joining a community characterized by its emphasis on interior life and silence.
AT
CRT
