theologian translator Catholic priest
Pollestad studied Russian language and Lutheran theology at the University of Oslo, graduating as candidate He graduated in Catholic theology at the Institut Catholique de Toulouse in 1979, and studied ancient Oriental languages (Syriac and Coptic) at the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome from 1979 to 1981.
French theology in 1977. He is fluent in a large number of languages. He has lived in the monastery of Saint Jacques in Paris since 2005. Pollestad has been a popular and award-winning author since the 1980s.
He has published several books and essays, and has translated a collection of poems by Cavafy in 2002.
Pollestad is an outspoken liberal who has been one of Norway"s best known Catholics for many years, frequently appearing as a commentator on Catholic issues in national media. He was one of three presenters of the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation documentary series Tre muntre herrer i Roma (Three Cheerful Gentlemen in Rome), that was aired in 2007.
In an op-ed in Aftenposten, he accounced his intention to resign as a Catholic priest in 2010, but eventually changed his mind.
He is also a member of the Norwegian Academy for Language and Literature.
