Our history in brief:

On 11 October 1985, Pope John Paul II gave an important address to the Council of the Conference of European Bishops. After analysing the secularisation of Europe, he said briefly that there is a need for a New Evangelization of Europe. 

"For effective evangelization we must return to the original apostolic model. It is this fundamental and exemplary model that we can admire at the Last Supper. Here the apostles are together with Mary, waiting impatiently for the gift of the Holy Spirit. Evangelization can only begin with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The gift of the Spirit is the first catalyst, the first source, the first blast of true evangelization. It must therefore begin by calling on the Spirit and seeking where He blows (cf. John 3:8). Some symptoms of this blowing of the Spirit are certainly evident in Europe today. In order to find, support and develop them, it is sometimes necessary to abandon rigid patterns and go where new sprouts of life according to the Spirit are beginning." 

Later, on 15 January 1986, the Pope, at the suggestion of the initiators of the Neocatechumenal Way, sent some families to carry out the so-called "implantatio ecclesiae" in the most secularised places of Europe. The aim of the mission was to bring out a Christian community in which the impact of faith in the present day could be seen. Among the missionaries was the Pasinato family. With the support of Father Marino Trevisini and the approval of Bishop Paul Verschuren, they settled in Oulu, where there were few members of the Catholic Church. 

However, after a short time and the arrival of many Catholic immigrants, it was found necessary to build a meeting place in Oulu. Thus the planning of the Oulu Catholic Church began.

Architect Gabriele Geronzi drew up the building plans. He was inspired by a model drawn up by Kiko Argüello on 14 September 1987, the day of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. The design was presented to the Pope, who blessed the foundation stone of the future building during his visit to Finland in 1989 and donated a painting of St Mary of Yasna Gora (Poland). Today, the painting is displayed in the church above the presidential seat. With the support of numerous neocatechumenal communities in Italy and Switzerland, the first part of the church was built in 1991, and the construction was almost completed in 2000 with the support of the german "Bonifatiuswerk". 

The paintings in the Mystery Crown in the church hall were painted by Kiko Argüello and his three assistants, Francisco Olivares Bogeskov, David Lopez and Michele Benvenuto. The artwork took a year and a half and was done free of charge out of love for Christ and His Church.