Born in Birresdorf, Germany, Profittlich entered the Society of Jesus in 1913 and was ordained in 1922. Gifted with languages and devoted to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, he carried out pastoral ministry in Germany and Poland before being sent to Estonia in 1930. Just a year later, Pope Pius XI appointed him Apostolic Administrator of the small Catholic community in the country, where he worked to strengthen parishes, foster ecumenical relations, and care for families and young people. He became Archbishop in 1936, choosing as his episcopal motto fides et pax — “faith and peace.”
When Soviet forces occupied Estonia in 1940, Archbishop Profittlich was urged to return to Germany. Instead, after a long process of prayer and discernment, he chose to remain with his flock, writing that “it is only right that the shepherd should be with his flock, sharing their happiness and their misfortune.”
Arrested by Soviet authorities in June 1941, he was tortured, accused of espionage, and sentenced to death. He died in prison in Kirov, Russia, on 22 February 1942, before the sentence could be carried out.
The beatification ceremony will be celebrated by Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, Archbishop Emeritus of Vienna. The Mass will take place in Tallinn’s Freedom Square (Vabaduse väljak), at the heart of the Estonian capital.
The beatification will be a moment of joy for the Catholic Church in Estonia, for the Society of Jesus, and for the wider Church. In a letter send out to the whole Society of Jesus this week, Fr Arturo Sosa, Superior General of the Jesuits, gave thanks for Profittlich’s life and witness, inviting Jesuits and lay collaborators to walk with faith and hope, inspired by his example.
The Holy Mass will be celebrated at 11.00am on Friday 6 September in Freedom Square (Vabaduse väljak), in the heart of Tallinn. Admission is free and open to all, with no registration required. The celebration will also be broadcast live at www.profittlich.eu
Archbishop Profittlich is one of several Jesuits who suffered under Soviet rule. Many were imprisoned, exiled, or killed during the years of repression in Eastern Europe. Among them were:
Fr Stanisław Feliks SJ (1883–1942) – executed by Soviet forces during the Second World War.
Fr Józef Czempiel SJ (1883–1942) and Fr Władysław Gurgacz SJ (1914–1949) – Polish Jesuits martyred under communist authorities.
Fr Victor Novikov SJ (1907–1979) – a Russian Jesuit who endured long years of imprisonment and hard labour in the Gulag.
Fr Walter Ciszek SJ (1904–1984) – an American Jesuit missionary arrested in 1941 and sentenced to Siberian labour camps; he survived and later bore witness to his experiences in the memoir With God in Russia.
The beatification of Archbishop Profittlich stands as a recognition not only of his own sacrifice but also of the many Jesuits and Christians who remained faithful during decades of Soviet persecution.
