The Most Famous
RELIGIOUS FIGURES from Sweden
This page contains a list of the greatest Swedish Religious Figures. The pantheon dataset contains 2,238 Religious Figures, 16 of which were born in Sweden. This makes Sweden the birth place of the 32nd most number of Religious Figures behind Hungary and Brazil.
Top 10
The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Swedish Religious Figures of all time. This list of famous Swedish Religious Figures is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Swedish Religious Figures.
1. Bridget of Sweden (1303 - 1373)
With an HPI of 74.06, Bridget of Sweden is the most famous Swedish Religious Figure. Her biography has been translated into 55 different languages on wikipedia.
Bridget of Sweden, OSsS (c. 1303 – 23 July 1373) born as Birgitta Birgersdotter, also Birgitta of Vadstena (Swedish: heliga Birgitta), was a Swedish widow, mystic, saint, and the founder of the Bridgettines. Outside Sweden, she was also known as the Princess of Nericia and was the mother of Catherine of Vadstena. Bridget is one of the six patron saints of Europe, together with Benedict of Nursia, Cyril and Methodius, Catherine of Siena and Teresa Benedicta of the Cross.
2. Eric IX of Sweden (1120 - 1160)
With an HPI of 66.60, Eric IX of Sweden is the 2nd most famous Swedish Religious Figure. His biography has been translated into 42 different languages.
Eric IX, (Swedish: Erik Jedvardsson; Erik den helige; Sankt Erik; d. 18 May 1160) also called Eric the Holy, Saint Eric, and Eric the Lawgiver, was a Swedish king in the 12th century, c. 1156–1160. The Roman Martyrology of the Catholic Church names him as a saint memorialized on 18 May. He was the founder of the House of Eric, which ruled Sweden with interruptions from c. 1156 to 1250.
3. Olaus Magnus (1490 - 1557)
With an HPI of 63.83, Olaus Magnus is the 3rd most famous Swedish Religious Figure. His biography has been translated into 32 different languages.
Olaus Magnus (October 1490 – 1 August 1557) was a Swedish writer, cartographer, and Catholic clergyman.
4. Catherine of Vadstena (1331 - 1381)
With an HPI of 61.30, Catherine of Vadstena is the 4th most famous Swedish Religious Figure. Her biography has been translated into 25 different languages.
Catherine of Sweden, Katarina av Vadstena, Catherine of Vadstena or Katarina Ulfsdotter (c. 1332 – 24 March 1381) was a Swedish noblewoman. She is venerated as a saint in the Roman Catholic Church. Her father was Ulf Gudmarsson, Lord of Ulvåsa, and her mother was Saint Bridget of Sweden (known as Birgitta Birgersdotter of Finsta in her lifetime).
5. Nathan Söderblom (1866 - 1931)
With an HPI of 61.18, Nathan Söderblom is the 5th most famous Swedish Religious Figure. His biography has been translated into 51 different languages.
Lars Olof Jonathan Söderblom (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈnɑ̌ːtan ˈsø̌ːdɛrblʊm]; 15 January 1866 – 12 July 1931) was a Swedish bishop. He was the Church of Sweden Archbishop of Uppsala from 1914 to 1931, and recipient of the 1930 Nobel Peace Prize. He is commemorated in the Calendar of Saints of the Lutheran Church on 12 July.
6. Lars Levi Laestadius (1800 - 1861)
With an HPI of 58.95, Lars Levi Laestadius is the 6th most famous Swedish Religious Figure. His biography has been translated into 24 different languages.
Lars Levi Laestadius (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈlɑːʂ ˈlěːvɪ lɛˈstɑ̌ːdɪɵs]; 10 January 1800 – 21 February 1861) was a Swedish Sami writer, ecologist, mythologist, and ethnographer as well as a pastor and administrator of the Swedish state Lutheran church in Lapland who founded the Laestadian pietist revival movement to help his largely Sami congregations, who were being ravaged by alcoholism. Laestadius himself became a teetotaller (except for his ongoing use of wine in holy Communion) in the 1840s, when he began successfully talking his Sami parishioners out of alcoholism. Laestadius was also a noted botanist and an author.
7. Prince Oscar Bernadotte (1859 - 1953)
With an HPI of 54.97, Prince Oscar Bernadotte is the 7th most famous Swedish Religious Figure. His biography has been translated into 21 different languages.
Prince Oscar Carl August Bernadotte, Count of Wisborg (15 November 1859 – 4 October 1953) was a Swedish religious activist, the second son of King Oscar II of Sweden and his consort, Sofia of Nassau. Born as a Prince of Sweden and Norway, he was known as Prince Oscar, Duke of Gotland. However, by marrying contrary to Swedish constitutional requirements, he lost those titles, becoming instead Luxembourgish nobility as Prince Bernadotte and Count of Wisborg.
8. Johannes Magnus (1488 - 1544)
With an HPI of 54.81, Johannes Magnus is the 8th most famous Swedish Religious Figure. His biography has been translated into 21 different languages.
Johannes Magnus (a modified form of Ioannes Magnus, a Latin translation of his birth name Johan Månsson; 19 March 1488 – 22 March 1544) was the last functioning Catholic Archbishop in Sweden, and also a theologian, genealogist, and historian.
9. Gustav Trolle (1488 - 1535)
With an HPI of 54.31, Gustav Trolle is the 9th most famous Swedish Religious Figure. His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.
Gustav Eriksson Trolle (September 1488 – 1535) was Archbishop of Uppsala, Sweden, in two sessions, during the turbulent Reformation events. He was the son of Eric Arvidsson Trolle, a former regent of Sweden during the era of the Kalmar Union. After returning from studies abroad, in Cologne and Rome, he was in 1513 elected vicar in Linköping. One year later he became Archbishop of Uppsala. In 1515 he got into an argument with the Swedish regent Sten Sture the Younger, who spread the rumour that he was allied with the King Christian II of Denmark. True or not, it resulted in Trolle being removed from his office and put under siege in the archbishop's mansion Almarestäket at lake Mälaren. In the winter of 1517, Almarestäket was demolished by orders from the Swedish government. The Danish threat grew stronger, and Trolle was among those who spoke in favour of the Danish King. In 1520, Christian II of Denmark entered Sweden, and Trolle was rewarded by being reappointed Archbishop of Uppsala. He crowned Christian King of Sweden on 4 November, 1520. This, and subsequent events, supports the notion of the two having made a deal previous to Christian's conquest of Sweden.
10. Laurentius Petri (1499 - 1573)
With an HPI of 52.81, Laurentius Petri is the 10th most famous Swedish Religious Figure. His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.
Laurentius Petri Nericius (1499 – 27 October 1573) was a Swedish clergyman and the first Evangelical Lutheran Archbishop of Sweden. He and his brother Olaus Petri are, together with the King Gustav Vasa, regarded as the main Lutheran reformers of Sweden. They are commemorated by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America on 19 April.
Pantheon has 16 people classified as religious figures born between 1120 and 1973. Of these 16, 4 (25.00%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living religious figures include Ulf Ekman, Eva Brunne, and Anders Wejryd. The most famous deceased religious figures include Bridget of Sweden, Eric IX of Sweden, and Olaus Magnus. As of April 2022, 2 new religious figures have been added to Pantheon including Jöns Bengtsson Oxenstierna and Anna Le Moine.
Living Religious Figures
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Ulf Ekman
1950 - Present
HPI: 47.17
Eva Brunne
1954 - Present
HPI: 44.51
Anders Wejryd
1948 - Present
HPI: 41.05
Anna Le Moine
1973 - Present
HPI: 29.40
Deceased Religious Figures
Go to all RankingsBridget of Sweden
1303 - 1373
HPI: 74.06
Eric IX of Sweden
1120 - 1160
HPI: 66.60
Olaus Magnus
1490 - 1557
HPI: 63.83
Catherine of Vadstena
1331 - 1381
HPI: 61.30
Nathan Söderblom
1866 - 1931
HPI: 61.18
Lars Levi Laestadius
1800 - 1861
HPI: 58.95
Prince Oscar Bernadotte
1859 - 1953
HPI: 54.97
Johannes Magnus
1488 - 1544
HPI: 54.81
Gustav Trolle
1488 - 1535
HPI: 54.31
Laurentius Petri
1499 - 1573
HPI: 52.81
Jöns Bengtsson Oxenstierna
1417 - 1467
HPI: 50.81
Elizabeth Hesselblad
1870 - 1957
HPI: 50.21
Newly Added Religious Figures (2022)
Go to all RankingsWhich Religious Figures were alive at the same time? This visualization shows the lifespans of the 4 most globally memorable Religious Figures since 1700.
