Sister Veronica lived in a French lay order and was later sent to Sweden. In Rögle, she has met people who are not Catholic, but who nevertheless visit the Dominican sisters’ convent to find themselves and silence.
By Mario Galgano – Rögle, Sweden
The convent of Rögle, in the southern Swedish region of Skåne, is a place of silence. On Sundays, in addition to the few residents, guests from cities like Malmö, Stockholm and Lund visit the local church.
Many of them are not Catholic, explained Sister Veronica, who has been part of the Dominican community for some years. “They say: I don’t know who I am. I want silence. I want to find myself,” she said.
Sister Veronica is from Paris, and is the only foreigner in the small community. Before joining the Rögle convent, she spent many years living in a lay community. She converted to the Catholic Church just nine years later. She moved to Sweden in 2021, at her superior general’s request.
“I was very happy. I had read the book about Nils Holgersson [Editor’s note: a children’s book by Swedish author Selma Lagerlöf] as a little girl,” she recalled with a smile.
The situation in Sweden, however, was completely different. “When I arrived, I had significant prejudices”, she affirmed. She was struck by how little was known about the Catholic Church.
“Many people didn’t even know that Catholics are Christians,” she noted. She now lives in Rögle with three other religious sisters.
The Dominican sisters of Rögle tell a group of journalists about their monastic life
The Catholic Church in Sweden is small, but this is precisely what piques outsiders’ curiosity.
The convent makes its history accessible on social media, including Facebook. In this way, even people who are not religious, but are open to the experience of silence, can draw near.
The Dominican spirituality provides a space to those who are seeking direction.
“People don’t come because they’re looking for the Catholic Church,” said Sr. Veronica. “They come because they’re looking for themselves.”
