The Administration of the Catholic Church in Iceland
THE HOLY FATHER
The Diocese of Reykjavík belongs to the Roman Catholic Church.
The head of the Catholic Church is His Holiness Pope Leo XIV.
Pope Leo XIV was born on September 14, 1955 in Chicago, United States, and was baptized Robert Francis Prevost.
At a young age, he became a monk in the Augustinian Order and in 1981 he made his solemn vows. He was ordained a priest in 1982 and obtained his licentiate in 1984 and in 1987 he defended his doctoral thesis.
Robert Francis Prevost worked for many years in missionary work in Peru, from 1985 to 1986 and from 1988 to 1998. He became superior of the Augustinian Order in Chicago from 2001 to 2013 and later returned to Peru in 2015 as bishop of Chiclayo.
In 2023, Pope Francis appointed him Prefect of the Conference of Bishops and President of the Apostolic Nuncio for Latin America. Francis later created him a cardinal the same year.
On 8 May 2025, he was elected Pope, and chose the name Leo XIV. He is the first American citizen and the first Peruvian one to be elected Pope. Pope Leo XIV is the 267th Pope in the history of the Church.
APOSTOLIC NUNCIO OF THE NORDIC COUNTRIES
In the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden ) is the ambassador of Pope, Nuntius apostolicus, with residence in Stockholm. Now Mons. Julio Murat occupies the office.
Mons. Murat was born on August 18, 1961 in Izmir, Turkey and is the former ambassador of the Holy See in Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon.
THE BISHOP OF REYKJAVIK
The diocese of Reykjavík is headed by Dávid Bartimej Tencer, O.F.M.Cap. He was born on May 18, 1963 at Nová Baňa. Ordained priest on July 15, 1986 in Banská Bystrica, Slovakia, for the diocese of Banská Bystrica, he was supply parish priest at Hriňova and later curate priest at Zvolen. He became parish administrator in Sklenné Teplice in 1989 and in 1990 in Podkonice.
He asked his bishop to release him so that he could enter the Capuchin Order and in 1990 he started his novitiate. He made his first religious profession on 1991 at Podkonice. In 1992 he began his studies of Franciscan spirituality at Antonianum in Rome which he finished with a license in theology in 1994. He made solemn profession in the Church of Nativity on August 28, 1994 of Saint John Baptist in Kremnické Bane – Johanesberg.
After his return from Rome he was parish administrator in Holíč, master of Postulants and member of provincial’s council. In 1996 he was transferred to Rat icov vrch at Hriňova, as superior in this convent until 2003 and till 2000 still master of postulates. Starting from the scholastic year 2001/02 till 2004 he taught homiletics in the Seminary in Badin and spiritual theology. As superior of the fraternity in Žilina in 2003 until 2004 he was teaching spiritual theology in the Institute of Saint Thomas of Aquin in Žilina.
He came to Iceland in 2004 and was appointed curate in Stella Maris parish in Reykjavik and started to learn Icelandic. In 2007 he was appointed parish priest in St. Thorlac parish in Reyðarfjörður. He was also a member of the Presbyteral Council and of the Collegium Consultorum of the Diocese of Reykjavik, before he was chosen as Bishop of Reykjavik.