Thorlak's Mass

Who Thorlak was

Thorlak Thorhallsson was born in 1133 at Hlíðarendi, in southern Iceland, into a farming family. He was made a deacon before his fifteenth birthday and a priest at eighteen. In Paris he studied with the Victorines and learned the Rule of Saint Augustine, staying from about 1153 to 1159; he then took up canon law at Lincoln. Returning home, he founded Iceland's first Augustinian monastery, at Þykkvabær, in 1168. Skálholt's see chose him as bishop in 1174, and Eysteinn Erlendsson, Archbishop of Nidaros, consecrated him in 1178. He died on 23 December 1193.

Becoming a saint

After Thorlak died, his successor Páll Jónsson told the Althing that vows might be made to him. In 1198 the relics were carried to the cathedral at Skálholt. A saga, Þorláks saga helga, sets out his life and dozens of miracles in close detail. Scholars think his unofficial sainthood was arranged inside Icelandic church circles, since clerics from both dioceses appear in the earliest reports of miracles, which rested on Latin texts. Rome waited centuries to agree: on 14 January 1984 Pope John Paul II declared him a saint and patron of Iceland.

Relics and shrines

Skálholt kept his reliquary until the Reformation, when it was destroyed and his remains were left scattered over the cathedral grounds. Only one relic is known to survive: a fragment of bone, stored with relics of other saints in a lead box built into the end wall of the sanctuary at St. Magnus Cathedral in the Faroe Islands. The box is known as The Golden Locker. A statue of Thorlak stands in the Catholic Cathedral in Reykjavík. Parishioners of the Evangelical Lutheran Diocese of North America honour him as well.

Today and change

Þorláksmessa now sits inside the Christmas season, and for many it is simply the last day of getting ready before the feast. In the Faroe Islands the date is known as Tollaksmessa. The saga of Thorlak was published again in Icelandic for John Paul II's visit in 1989. A group based in New York has argued that Thorlak should be made patron of people with autism, and the Church already counts him as patron of Iceland, of fishermen, of Catholics in Scandinavia and of autistic people.

How Thorlak's Mass is kept

The day belongs to the church calendar. In Iceland a mass is said in Thorlak's name on 23 December, and his life is remembered in readings and in the old saga. Because the date sits right before Christmas Eve, much of the country treats it as the close of the seasonal preparations. In the Faroe Islands the same observance carries the name Tollaksmessa. A separate commemoration on 20 July recalls the moving of his relics. Beyond Iceland and the Faroes, the Evangelical Lutheran Diocese of North America honours him.

When and where

It falls each year on 23 December, Thorlak's feast day and the date of his death in 1193. A second feast on 20 July marks the translation of his relics. The December date needs no reckoning, since it is fixed, and it lands just before Christmas Eve.

Iceland is its home: the feast is celebrated across the country, and Thorlak is the nation's patron. The Faroe Islands keep it as well, under the name Tollaksmessa. Skálholt, his see, and the cathedral there are the historic centre. He is honoured too by the Evangelical Lutheran Diocese of North America.

What Thorlak's Mass means

For Icelanders the day carries two meanings at once. It belongs to a saint who is the country's patron, a bishop remembered for founding its first Augustinian house and for the saga of miracles told about him. It also stands at the threshold of Christmas, the point where preparation ends and the feast begins. In the Faroes the same date ties islanders to a shared northern church history, and one surviving bone keeps a physical link with the saint.

Days Thorlak's Mass is marked

Questions people ask about Thorlak's Mass

See also

Maundy ThursdayA Christian feast marking the start of Easter observances with foot washing and communion services.YuleThe Germanic midwinter festival that Christmas grew out of, kept today by HeathensKvæðiLong narrative ballads sung during traditional chain dances in the Faroe IslandsAdvent calendarA daily countdown to Christmas using doors, images, or small gifts.

Good reading and sources

• Saint Thorlak on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• Wikidata recordOpen data

It may contain mistakes. Traditions differ from one family, village and community to the next, and the people who keep them know them best. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-11.