Large shortage of priests in sparsely populated areas - the church uses "hired priests"

Heinrich Fröb was recruited by the Church of Sweden and moved to northern Sweden from Germany.

He lives in Byske, but commutes weekly to Vilhelmina where there is not a single permanently employed priest in the area.

Hope to get a colleague

Heinrich Fröb sometimes gets help from a retired priest colleague in Vilhelmina when there is too much to do.

- They work almost like "hired priests", just like the hired doctors at the health centers. I hope to have a colleague soon, but I have hoped for a long time. I am just over 66 years old, so I do not know what happens when I retire, says Heinrich Fröb.