Bishop of Reykjavik, Dávid Bartimej Tencer, presented to Pope Francis at a general audience on Wednesday, November 10, an unusual and interesting owl-shaped missionary money box designed by Ivan Sović, director of the Pontifical Mission Societies for the five Nordic countries.
This is a Missio project for the five Nordic countries: Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, which seeks to encourage people to show solidarity with people, especially children in need. “I tried to make an unusual and interesting money box that would call for reflection at first,” said Sovic. “I was looking for inspiration in the Arctic circle of our northern European countries, which are gathered in one church conference, so I decided on the snowy owl. Many children love these birds, and they have significant symbolism in the Bible as well. Among the other things, they are mentioned in context of desolation, loneliness, but also care for young people. This is especially important in this time of pandemic, when there are more and more lonely people among us to whom we are called to show love and care.” says Sović. Bishop Tencer just had the opportunity to meet the Pope in Rome, where he handed him one of our owls. I am especially glad to see that Pope Francis has expressed his interest and listened with sympathy to the bishop’s interpretation of this small symbolic detail.