Fredrik Hansen (born 13 June 1979) is a Norwegian Catholic prelate who has served as Bishop of Oslo since July 2025.

Early life

Fredrik Hansen was born on 13 June 1979 in a Evangelican-Lutheran family belonging to the

Church of Norway The Church of Norway (, , , ) is an Lutheranism, evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway. Christianity became the state religion of Norway around 1020, and was established a ...

. He was converted into the Catholic Church at the age of 20 on 27 December 1999. Hansen was educated at Brunia Junior High School and the

University of Oslo The University of Oslo (; ) is a public university, public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation#Europe, oldest university in Norway. Originally named the Royal Frederick Univ ...

Priestly ministry

After studying philosophy and theology at

Allen Hall Seminary Allen Hall Seminary, often abbreviated to Allen Hall, is the Roman Catholic seminary and theological college of the Province of Westminster at 28 Beaufort Street, Chelsea, Beaufort Street in Chelsea, London, in the London Borough of Kensington and ...

and

Heythrop College Heythrop College, University of London, was a constituent college of the University of London between 1971 and 2018, last located in Kensington Square, London. It comprised the university's specialist faculties of philosophy and theology with soc ...

, both in London, he was ordained deacon on 1 July 2006, and on 21 April 2007, he was ordained priest incardinated to the Diocese of Oslo. After his priestly ordination, he held the following positions: * Private Secretary to the Bishop of Oslo (2007–2011) * Pro-Rector at St. Eystein Seminary (2008–2011) * Secretary of the Norwegian Catholic Bishops' Council (2009-2011) * Judge at the Tribunal for the Catholic Diocese of Oslo (2011–2016) He received a doctorate in canon law from the

Pontifical Gregorian University Pontifical Gregorian University (; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana), is a private university, private pontifical university in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as a part of the Roman College, founded in 1551 by Ignatius of Loyo ...

in Rome in 2013, during his stay in Rome, he was the vice-rector of the Collegio Teutonico di Santa Maria dell'Anima. He was then a student at the

Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy The Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy (, ) is one of the Roman Colleges of the Catholic Church. The academy is dedicated to training priests to serve in the diplomatic corps and the Secretariat of State of the Holy See. Despite its name, the P ...

, and in 2013, he entered the diplomatic service of the Holy See, subsequently, he was elevated to the title of

Monsignor Monsignor (; ) is a form of address or title for certain members of the clergy in the Catholic Church. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian ''monsignore'', meaning "my lord". "Monsignor" can be abbreviated as Mons.... or Msgr. In some ...

. Hansen was assigned to the Papal Nunciature in

Tegucigalpa Tegucigalpa ( )—formally Tegucigalpa, Municipality of the Central District ( or ''Tegucigalpa, M.D.C.''), and colloquially referred to as ''Tegus'' or ''Teguz''—is the capital and largest city of Honduras along with its sister city, Comaya ...

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...

, to the Permanent Mission of the Holy See as observer to international organizations in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, and to the Permanent Mission of the Holy See to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. After completing his diplomatic service in New York, he entered the

Society of the Priests of Saint Sulpice The Society of Priests of Saint-Sulpice (; PSS), also known as the Sulpicians, is a society of apostolic life of Pontifical Right for men, named after the Church of Saint-Sulpice, Paris, where it was founded. The members of the Society add the ...

on 22 July 2022. The congregation's main activity since its foundation in 1642 has been the operation of seminaries. Hansen became a professor at

St. Mary's Seminary and University St. Mary's Seminary and University is a Catholic Church, Catholic seminary located within the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore, Archdiocese of Baltimore in Baltimore, Maryland; it was the first seminary founded in the United States after ...

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

, and teaches the canon law and ecclesiology.

Episcopal ministry

On 1 November 2024,

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

appointed Hansen as the Coadjutor Bishop of Oslo, his episcopal consecration was held on 18 January 2025 on St. Olav's Cathedral by Cardinal

Pietro Parolin Pietro Parolin (, ; born 17 January 1955) is an Catholic Church in Italy, Italian Catholic prelate who has served as the Holy See, Vatican's Cardinal Secretary of State, Secretary of State since 2013, and has served as a member of the Council o ...

. On 16 July 2025

Pope Leo XIV Pope Leo XIV (born Robert Francis Prevost, September 14, 1955) has been head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State since May 2025. He is the first pope to have been born in the United States and North America, the fir ...

accepted the resignation of the Bishop of Oslo,

Bernt Ivar Eidsvig Bernt Ivar Eidsvig, known 1991-2005 as Markus Bernt Eidsvig (born 12 September 1953), is a Norwegian prelate of the Catholic Church. He has been the Bishop of Oslo since 2005 and the Apostolic Administrator of the Roman Catholic Territorial Pre ...

; as the Coadjutor Bishop, Hansen automatically succeeded Eidsvig as the Bishop of Oslo.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hansen, Fredrik 1979 births Norwegian Roman Catholic bishops 21st-century Norwegian clergy Bishops appointed by Pope Francis Living people Pontifical Gregorian University alumni Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy alumni Diplomats for the Holy See