Pope Leo XIV taps Trappist Bishop Varden to preach papal Lenten retreat

VATICAN CITY (OSV News) -- Pope Leo XIV has chosen Norwegian Trappist Bishop Erik Varden to preach the first papal Lenten retreat of his pontificate with the Roman Curia later this month.

Bishop Varden, a former abbot of Mount Saint Bernard Abbey in England and the Catholic bishop of Trondheim in central Norway, will deliver a series of reflections titled "Illuminated by a Hidden Glory." He is known for his spiritual writing, notably his books, "Chastity" (Bloomsbury, 2024), "The Shattering of Loneliness: On Christian Remembrance" (Bloomsbury, 2018) and "Healing Wounds: The 2025 Lent Book" (Bloomsbury, 2024).

The retreat, which runs from Feb. 22 to 27, will be Bishop Varden’s first time preaching the meditations for the pope and cardinals residing in Rome. Bishop Varden’s meditations will draw on the life and thought of St. Bernard of Clairvaux and other themes, including the splendor of truth, the angels of God and the communication of hope. The retreat will include daily meditations, vespers and Eucharistic adoration.

Pope Leo has chosen to hold his first Lenten retreat as pope in the Apostolic Palace, restoring the retreat as a communal gathering for the prefects of Vatican dicasteries and other cardinals residing in Rome. The meditations will take place in the Pauline Chapel, surrounded by Michelangelo’s frescoes The Crucifixion of St. Peter and The Conversion of Saul.

The tradition of a weeklong papal retreat dates back to Pope Pius XI and was first held in 1925 during Advent. Pope Paul VI moved the retreat to the week following Ash Wednesday in 1964. During the retreat, papal events are typically suspended, including the general audience scheduled this year for Wednesday, Feb. 25.

Before the retreat begins at 5 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 22, Pope Leo is scheduled to celebrate Mass at 9 a.m. at the Parish of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus in Rome’s Castro Pretorio neighborhood and return to the Vatican for the Angelus prayer at noon.

Under Pope Francis, the Lenten retreats were held from 2014 to 2020 at a retreat house in Ariccia, in the Alban Hills southeast of Rome. Francis was unable to participate in the 2020 retreat because of health issues, and in subsequent years he asked cardinals to make the retreat privately, in part because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Last year’s meditations were led by Capuchin Father Roberto Pasolini, whom Francis appointed in 2024 as preacher of the papal household. Pope Francis followed the retreat by videolink from the hospital in what would be his final Lent.

Who is Bishop Varden?

Bishop Varden, 51, was raised in a non-practicing Lutheran family in Norway and converted to Catholicism during his first year of studies at the University of Cambridge.

"I asked to be instructed in the Catholic faith during my first year as a student and was received," Bishop Varden said in an interview with OSV News in December.

The son of a village veterinarian in southern Norway, Varden completed a decade of studies at Cambridge before entering the Trappist community, which he has described as "a form of life which is ideally fully oriented towards the search for God."

He entered Mount Saint Bernard Abbey near Coalville, England, in 2002, made his solemn profession in 2007 and was ordained a priest in 2011. In 2015 he was elected the abbey’s 11th abbot, becoming the first abbot in its history born outside Britain or Ireland.

Since 2020, Varden has served as bishop of Trondheim and is the first native Norwegian Catholic bishop to lead the diocese in modern times. His five predecessors were German missionaries. His episcopal motto, "Coram Fratribus Intellexi," meaning "Face to face with my brethren, I have come to understand," reflects a pastoral approach in a country in which Catholics make up roughly 5% of Norway’s population, often living in communities separated by long distances. In 2021, Bishop Varden launched a website to share homilies and reflections, saying his deeper task was helping people truly meet Christ.

"It is a responsible mission," Varden said in a statement posted on the official website of the Catholic Church in Norway after the announcement of his appointment as retreat preacher. In an email to OSV News Feb. 4, Bishop Varden said, "I simply hope that in some little way I may render myself useful."