Norwegian diocese moves to open sainthood for acclaimed author Sigrid Undset

The Diocese of Oslo in Norway announced July 8 that it intends to open a canonization cause this fall for Sigrid Undset, raising the possibility that the Nobel Prize-winning novelist could become Norway’s first new saint in nearly nine centuries.

Undset — best known for the medieval trilogy “Kristin Lavransdatter,” which follows its heroine through passion, sin, suffering, and eventual redemption in medieval Norway — is widely regarded as one of the 20th century’s greatest writers. 

During a Mass celebrating the feast of St. Sunniva, Bishop Fredrik Hansen of Oslo announced preparations to open Undset’s cause and said she was “far more than an author and Nobel Prize laureate.” 

“For us, she is a model of Christian faith, of a life lived in virtue, and of the pursuit of holiness,” he said.

“She showed a constant and practical concern for the poor. She gave of herself in caring for her daughter, in her commitment to life and to the sanctity of life,” the bishop added. “Through her many books she has shaped countless believers, inspired them to live in Christ, and borne witness to our medieval saints.”

According to the Diocese of Oslo, once Undset’s cause for canonization is formally opened, she would receive the title “Servant of God.” A diocesan investigation would then collect evidence about her life, virtues, reputation for holiness, and writings before officials determine whether to send the cause to the Vatican for further consideration.

Undset’s writings could be key to her canonization: Insights from The Catholic Association

Writing July 20 for The Catholic Association (TCA), Ashley McGuire, a senior fellow at TCA and co-host of its “Conversations with Consequences” podcast, said Undset’s potential canonization is especially exciting because it invites Catholics “to think that the path to sainthood can be forged at the tip of a pen,” or, as in Undset’s case, “with the tap of a finger on a key.” 

“We often think of saints as martyrs, but her cause moving forward is a reminder that drawing the eyes of the faithful heavenward through beauty and art is also a way to live a life of heroic virtue. And goodness, does the world need beauty — and in the case of Kristin Lavransdatter — beautiful stories of sanctification, even imaginary ones,” McGuire added.

If Undset is eventually canonized, she could become the first Norwegian recognized as a saint since the Middle Ages. 

In a recent episode of TCA’s “Conversations with Consequences” podcast cited by McGuire, Michael O’Neill, a sainthood expert known as the “Miracle Hunter,” pointed to St. Magnus Erlendsson, who was killed in 1117, and St. Olaf Haraldsson, whose canonization received papal recognition in 1164, as among the last saints from the region.

“This is a big deal for Norway,” O’Neill said on the podcast. “It’s been a very long time since we’ve seen a Norwegian saint.”

O’Neill explained that a canonization cause typically begins with “fame of sanctity,” or fama sanctitatis in Latin — a lasting reputation among the faithful that a person lived a holy life and that miracles or favors have occurred through that person’s intercession.

The diocesan investigation would examine Undset’s life, reputation for holiness, and extensive body of writing, according to O’Neill.

“In the case of a very modern saint,” he said, “you’ll see them doing interviews with family members, with friends, with co-workers. In the case of a historic cause like this one, they’ll be examining her writings. And, of course, she’s well known for her writings, so that will be a big part of it — to look at how she lived through the reports and through her own writings.”

Undset, who was born in Denmark in 1882 and raised in Norway, entered the Catholic Church in 1924 after spending much of her early life in a secular environment. She later joined the Third Order of St. Dominic, now known as the Lay Fraternities of St. Dominic, after being drawn to the order’s commitment to truth and the intellectual engagement of faith and culture, according to TCA.

McGuire noted that Undset’s path to Catholicism followed a turbulent marriage and years of personal hardship. Undset married Norwegian painter Anders Castus Svarstad in 1912 after becoming involved with him while he was still married. The couple later separated, and the Church declared their marriage invalid because Svarstad’s first wife was still living. 

McGuire compared Undset’s moral and spiritual struggles with those of Kristin, the heroine of one of her novels, whose choices lead to a troubled marriage marked by suffering and infidelity.

“No doubt Undset’s own painful experience defying the sexual and marital mores of her day inspired the events in Kristin’s life, as Kristin has sex out of wedlock with the town’s resident bad boy,” McGuire wrote. “Her marriage to him is fraught, including his infidelity.”

Undset received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1928, four years after her conversion. She donated a substantial portion of the prize money to charitable causes, including support for families caring for children with disabilities. 

According to TCA, she also became an early and outspoken opponent of Nazism, denouncing antisemitism as “racial insanity.” The Nazi regime burned Undset’s writings, and she fled Norway after the German invasion, after her eldest son was killed while fighting German forces.

Undset eventually traveled to the U.S., where she continued writing and speaking against Nazism and in support of the Norwegian resistance. She returned to Norway after World War II and died in 1949.

She was also a consistent defender of human life, opposing abortion, eugenics, and the mistreatment of the poor and vulnerable, according to TCA. 

Bishop Hansen said she showed “a constant and practical concern for the poor” and “gave of herself in caring for her daughters, and in her commitment to life and to the sanctity of life.” 

In her report, McGuire noted that Undset’s writings “may get her canonized.”

She cited a National Catholic Register article praising Undset’s work as effectively portraying “the confrontation of sin as a possible channel for God’s mercy” and exploring the relationship between human nature and grace.

Before becoming an acclaimed novelist, Undset worked for about a decade as an office secretary while writing in her spare time. Publishers initially rejected her work, but she persisted and published her first novel in 1907.

“Just like her path to sainthood, her journey as a writer began in a much different place from where it ended,” McGuire wrote. “And the ending of her story is not yet written. Rather, the impact of her novels, her advocacy, and her public witness has yet to be fully understood, by the Church and by the world.”