Andreas Holmberg, bishop in the Stockholm diocese, describes Caroline Krook as an appreciated and respected leader who has meant a lot for the Church of Sweden. He will remember her as a person with a lot of warmth, commitment and love for the church and people, and calls her a courageous voice.
She was driving the fact that the Swedish church now, for quite a few years, also ordains same-sex couples.
Opera singer Rickard Söderberg says that Krook stood up straight for love, even when it was uncomfortable:
She has contributed to me being able to get married in the Church of Sweden during the summer, and for that I am eternally grateful, says Söderberg.
Opened with a speech at Pride
Krook has openly expressed her support for same-sex couples to be able to get married in church. In 2004, she held the opening speech at Stockholm Pride, where she emphasized that she wanted to work for a gender-neutral marriage that can also receive the church's blessing.
”Her work for Christian faith in our time and in our society, for the church's openness, and for justice and equality has been of invaluable importance. Bishop Caroline made important, good and lasting impressions in the Church of Sweden and in our country”, writes Archbishop Martin Modéus in a post on Facebook.
The last time Andreas Holmberg met Caroline Krook was over lunch earlier this year.
She expressed a deep appreciation for the life she had lived, which she thought was deeply meaningful and rich.
First female dean
Krook was ordained in 1969 and was appointed dean of Storkyrkan in Stockholm in 1990. She thus became Sweden's first female dean. She was also the country's first female prison priest.
Actor and drag artist Robert Fux says that Caroline Krook was ”a person with great love for people and a will to change who proudly and early stood with the hbtq-community”.
Regardless of whether you are a believer or not, her stance meant a lot to ventilate enclosed church rooms and highlight outdated structures. She wore her solidarity in both word and deed, says Robert Fux.
Krook's diploma thesis during her therapist training at the Sankt Lukasstiftelsen revolved around the confession of sins. Caroline Krook wrote about its function in the worship service.
I was critical of the idea that humans have to crawl before God, she said in an interview with Kyrkans tidning 2025.
