Jon Olav Fosse, a Norwegian author,
translator and playwright, was awarded the controversial Nobel Prize for
Literature in 2023. In June 2024, he explained to RivistaStudio.com why
he became a Catholic.
"When I saw the cathedral [of Milan] just now, I felt a great distance. Compared to the religious context I know in Norway.
For
years I was really fascinated by the Quakers: no priests, no
sacraments, nothing. As simple as possible. Just a few chairs, sitting
in a circle, concentrating on the inner light that God has given us.
It was my spiritual place, and it still is. They do not drink alcohol, they are pacifists.
And I have no respect for authority, I never took my hat off when I met a priest. (laughs).
But one meeting a month with the Quakers was not enough, I needed something more, and I ended up with Catholicism.
Mainly because I really like the Mass. And I prefer the Latin mass. And these liturgies, these repetitions...
And through repetition you really stop and think about what you're saying, but you also create a silence through repetition.
It
is very strange for a Norwegian to be Catholic, because there are very
few of us, maybe two thousand of us. Almost all are converts. Most are
intellectuals".
Picture: Jon Olav Fosse © wikicommons CC BY-SA, #newsIdrajluvpk