After 700 TV broadcasts of ‘The Faith Conversation’, the TV career of presenter Leo Fijen comes to an end. With his Sunday morning conversations and his series about monasteries, he was the anchor of Catholic Netherlands on screen for 35 years. “No one can live without food for the soul.”
Leo Fijen (68 years old) has a varied career. He grew up in Haarlem, where as a 14-year-old student he wrote for the local church magazine. After studying history in Leiden, he combined his job as a teacher in Haarlem with work as a sports journalist. He then worked for years as editor and presenter of the KRO current affairs section Intersection and he painted portraits for the monastery series of the KRO monks at home and abroad.
As editor-in-chief of KRO-NCRV, he was also at the basis of The Passion . “The goal at the time was to find a broad audience for the message behind the Easter story. Because it was a new initiative with a hefty price tag, we had to struggle enormously to get it through. When you realize that The Passion has been a tradition for almost fifteen years now and attracts more than two million viewers annually, I am proud of what we have achieved.”
Elfstedentocht
He already resigned from most of his duties at the broadcaster, but he still remained a presenter The Faith Conversation . For fifteen years he has been introducing the live broadcast of church services with short meetings on Sunday mornings. Sometimes he talks to a committed volunteer, other times with a priest or someone with a special life path.
For example, gymnastics legend Epke Zonderland talked about his Catholic youth and Elfstedentocht hero George Schweigmann (eight crosses!) put his sports achievements into perspective by talking about his drowned child. “The conversations could be very emotional, straight from the heart. Don’t think I’m a born interviewer and technically it wasn’t perfect either. But something did happen in those conversations. There was always a spark of genuine interest. That came across, I think. And that enriched me, too. By listening to others, I was able to grow myself.”
Traffic island
He says that the program has attracted around 80 to 100 thousand regular viewers for a long time. “During corona times that grew to 250 thousand. At the time when churches had to close due to the virus, we were a safe refuge for many people who were left empty-handed because they missed their Sunday morning ritual. Of The Faith Conversation and the following church service we were able to give those seeking comfort and hope. Even apart from corona, with our Sunday morning broadcasts we are always an anchor point for the sick and elderly who can no longer go to church. They participate in the celebration and feel that they belong after all. That means a lot in these times when many elderly people no longer feel heard. Because if people can no longer come to church, the church must come to the people. Especially at crucial moments in people’s lives, it is important to show solidarity with these Sunday morning programs.”
He is moved and talks about the phone call he received from Bishop Smeets in 2021. “He called me from his hospital bed to say he was going to die soon. Crying, he told us how much it had meant to him to watch our broadcasts as a patient on Sunday mornings. It was his line with everything that was familiar.”
Drinking coffee
Fijen therefore argues with full conviction for the retention of the church service and the introductory religious discussion on TV. “The NPO leaders don’t have to give up for the money, because The Faith Conversation is the cheapest program in Hilversum.” Just think: no studio, no editorial staff, no frills. His conversation partners came from his own church and work network. Many of his guests talked about their faith as passionately as he did. “80,000 Catholics still go to church on Sundays. I realize that that number is under pressure, yet I also see that the significance of faith is certainly not decreasing. But it will be different. In the past you had the rich Catholic life with a lot of outside, now the church is more inward-oriented and it is more about the content. Don’t underestimate the social function of the church either. Drinking coffee after the service is the perfect time for many elderly people to meet neighbors.”
Volunteer at the abbey
He is happy that ‘his’ program will continue and that there are three successors to take over his task in turn from March. Will he miss it? ,,No. It was an enrichment of my life, but other things take its place.” He summarizes it briefly: Fijen is a volunteer at the Egmond Abbey, runs a magazine about monastic life and coaches his grandson’s football team. . He is also active in the parish in his hometown Maartensdijk, he continues to write his columns for the KRO magazine and he officiates at funerals. “I will definitely continue to meet the people with the stories.”
The Faith Conversation. Every Sunday at 9.45 am, NPO2