In Greenland, the world’s largest island, glaciers spill toward the sea from a vast ice cap — and in the middle of that extreme landscape, a tiny Catholic community gathers around the territory’s only priest.
Father Tomaž Majcen, a Conventual Franciscan from Slovenia, has served in Greenland since 2023. Based in Nuuk, the capital, he celebrates daily Mass at Christ the King Church — the island’s only Catholic parish — and frequently travels to outlying towns to visit Catholics scattered across the territory.
“In total there are about 800 Catholics,” Majcen told ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. Most are immigrants from a wide range of countries, though a small number are local Greenlanders, he said.
In the coldest months, temperatures can plunge well below minus 50 degrees Celsius (minus 58 degrees Fahrenheit). Majcen, who also enjoys watching the northern lights, said the hardships of climate and distance shape parish life — but recent global attention has brought a different kind of strain.
The small Catholic community, like much of the wider population, has reacted with a mix of unease and sadness to recent statements by U.S. President Donald Trump suggesting possible annexation or control of Greenland. The island sits in a strategically sensitive region, including along potential routes for intercontinental missiles in a hypothetical conflict between Washington and Moscow.
“Yes, there is a lot of uneasiness, though it is quiet,” Majcen said. “People here are not dramatic; they are reserved. But fear doesn’t always shout — often it whispers.”
“Some ask me what I think will happen,” he continued. “Others simply say: ‘This doesn’t feel right.’”
Majcen said what troubles him most is the way Greenland is sometimes discussed in faraway political debates.
“Greenland is spoken of as if it were an object, not a home,” he said. “As a priest I listen to people and I sense how these kinds of statements make them feel small and invisible. From Nuuk these threats may seem far away, but their emotional impact is real.”
Greenland’s strategic importance has grown as polar navigation becomes more feasible and as Arctic sea routes could shorten travel between Europe and Asia in coming decades. But Majcen warned that geopolitical talk often overlooks the people who live there.
“When these kinds of words appear in the media, they create noise, confusion, and anxiety among ordinary people,” he said. “Life in Greenland is usually quiet, centered on family, work, the weather, and community. Suddenly we hear strong words about ‘taking control’ or ‘annexation,’ spoken very far away, without knowing our people.”
“What alarms me most is how easily human dignity can be forgotten,” he added. “Political debates focus on territory, resources, and strategy but rarely on the heart of the people.”
Greenland has about 57,000 inhabitants, and around 95% belong to the Evangelical Lutheran Church. In his conversations with parishioners — often “at the foot of the altar,” he said — Majcen hears worries that go beyond politics.
“Some people ask me: ‘Do we matter? Will our voice be heard? Are we just a bargaining chip?’” he said. “These questions touch something very deep. As a priest, I see how uncertainty weakens trust and generates anxiety.”
Majcen noted that even before Greenland drew renewed international attention, the island faced serious social challenges, including high rates of suicide and alcoholism. In that context, he said, the Church’s mission includes offering steadiness and hope.
“The uncertainty weakens trust and generates anxiety,” he said, stressing the need for the “tenderness of the Gospel,” which “reminds us that each person has a face, a name, and a story.”
“Greenland is a home,” he said. “It is the home of families, children, elders, traditions, and hopes. We are not just a piece of land, an empty space on a map, nor only ice, minerals, or a military position.”
From that conviction, he urged a posture of respect toward Greenlanders in any discussion of the island’s future.
“No future can be built in Greenland without Greenlanders,” Majcen said. “Listening is more important than speaking. Respect is more important than power.”
Greenland is also central to the climate debate, as warming accelerates ice melt. Majcen pointed to a recent decision by the self-governing Greenlandic government to prohibit new hydrocarbon exploration, despite significant unexploited reserves of oil and gas beneath the ground. The choice reflected both economic realities — extraction costs are extremely high — and environmental concerns, he said, alongside priorities such as protecting nature, fishing, tourism, and expanding sustainable energy, including hydropower.
For Majcen, care for Greenland’s environment is not only a political issue but also a matter of faith.
“Our fragile Arctic environment is one of God’s most impressive — and most vulnerable — masterpieces,” he said. “Caring for it is also a way of respecting those of us who live here.”
Majcen also welcomed an ecumenical response from the country’s Lutheran majority. According to the World Council of Churches, Paneeraq Siegstad Munk, the Lutheran bishop for Greenland, encouraged parishes to respond to tensions by praying each Sunday for the Kingdom of Denmark and the Greenlandic government.
Majcen said the initiative reflects a shared Christian concern for peace.
“As Christians, even from different traditions, we share a common concern for peace and human dignity,” he said. “In moments like this, ecumenical unity is not a theory but a reality. Prayer helps society breathe more calmly.”
His hope for Greenland’s future, he said, is “simple and deep”: “That Greenland can grow in peace, with dignity and respect for itself. That young people feel proud of who they are. And that fear does not have the last word.”
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
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