Prior to the Reformation in Sweden, there were a number of Catholic dioceses, including the former dioceses of Linköping, Lund, Sigtuna, Skara, Strängnäs, Västerås, Växjö. By 1550, all of the episcopates of the Catholic bishops in Sweden, including present-day Finland, came to an end.[2] Following the reformation, most of these dioceses were reinstated as parts of the Church of Sweden.
In 1582, any remaining Catholics in Sweden and elsewhere in Northern Europe were placed under the jurisdiction of a papal nuncio in Cologne. The Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, on its establishment in 1622, took charge of the vast missionary field, which—at its third session—was divided among the nuncio of Brussels (for the Catholics in Denmark and Norway), the nuncio at Cologne (much of Northern Germany), and the nuncio to Poland (Sweden and Mecklenburg).
In 1688 Sweden became part of the Apostolic Vicariate of the Nordic Missions and the German Paderborn bishops functioned as administrators of the apostolic vicariate. In 1781 the Vicariate of the Nordic Missions was split, and the Apostolic Prefecture of Sweden was established, which jurisdiction over Sweden and Finland. On 23 September 1783 the apostolic prefecture was promoted to the Apostolic Vicariate of Sweden, seated in the Swedish capital Stockholm. The newly Vicariate of Sweden was entitled to a titular bishop, but the positions appears to have been left vacant until 1862. Over the course of its authority, the Vicariate had jurisdiction over the territory of Sweden, Finland, and Norway. Finland was split off in 1809, becoming part of the Russian-imperial Mohilev Archdiocese. Norway became part of the Vicariate in 1834; its northern regions were split off in 1855 to become the Apostolic Prefecture of the North Pole while the southern regions were split off on 7 August 1868, eventually forming the Apostolic Prefecture of Norway.
On 29 June 1953 the Apostolic Vicariate of Sweden was promoted to Diocese Stockholm, named after its see, while the same diocesan status was given in Norway to the new bishopric of Oslo. The diocese was visited by Pope John Paul II in June 1989 and by Pope Francis in October/November 2016.
In 2019, the diocese constituted 122,000 Catholics (1.2% of the global total: 10,290,832), but an estimated 150,000 Catholics consisting of hundreds of nationalities reside within Sweden.[citation needed] The diocese consists of 44 parishes and 13 missions with 159 priests (78 diocesan, 81 religious), 31 deacons, 269 lay religious (96 brothers, 173 sisters) and 9 seminarians.
