The Catholic Church in Norway has experienced a quick and significant growth in recent years. While this brings us joy and enriches our parishes, there is little doubt that the enormous growth has overwhelmed us and greatly tested our capacity.
Many Catholics in Norway are not registered in our database. Registration is necessary in order for the Church to receive public grants in the same way all other registered faith communities do. It is also crucial for us to know who the faithful are, in order to be able to offer them liturgical and pastoral services.
There is no global database over members of the Catholic Church. For this reason, we ask Catholics who move to Norway to actively register themselves as officially registered members of the Catholic Church in Norway. It is important to note that in Norway – as opposed to a number of other countries – one does not pay more taxes or other fees as a consequence of being a registered member of a faith community. No public database exist over persons who belong to different faith communities.
The Catholic Diocese of Oslo is responsible for keeping digital membership records of all three dioceses in Norway. In order for the Catholic Church to receive the public grants for members, Catholics in Norway need to be registered with their full 11 digit personal identity number (date of birth + personal number).