Every time the monk Erik Varden, now bishop in the Norwegian diocese of Trondheim by appointment of Pope Francis, comes to Spain, he raises authentic ecclesiastical passions, as if he were an 'influencer' with millions of 'likes' to his credit. What is the reason for the Erik Varden phenomenon?

For those who do not know about his life, I would like to point out that he was born in 1974. His grandfather was a Protestant pastor, his parents were avowed agnostics. He studied Divinity, that is, Theology, at Magdalene College in Cambridge. Away from the faith, he experienced a curious meeting with God when he listened to Mahler's Symphony No. 2. After defending his thesis he was invited to teach in Paris. He then decided to join the Cistercians of the Strict Observance. Assigned to Rome, he studied at the Pontifical Oriental Institute. On his return, he was elected abbot of his monastery, Mount Saint Bernard Abbey in Coalville (England), famous for its beers.

A reader of Jon Fosse, Knausgard, Wendell Berry, Marylinne Robinson, among others, he speaks of God with serenity and of the Church with gentleness. A few days ago he was at the School of Theology of the University of Navarra with a lecture entitled 'At the height of the storm of the human heart'.

In a Church under stress, the words of Erik Varden bring priceless peace of mind. Not long ago he was asked what to do in the face of disorientation and discouragement. The first thing he said is that we must "learn to relax and not get too excited by the conviction that we are living in a decadence without precedent in history". The second thing, "to place what happens to us in God's plan, in God's time, which is our time, and not only our time, and it must be our plan, but not only our plan".

He added: "When everything is crumbling and at the same time we feel responsible for keeping those walls from falling down, simply accept that today is the day that God has made and given us, that He will make this day also a day of grace and joy. Monastic wisdom brought up to date.