Dehonianer
Teemu Sippo was born on 20 May 1947 in Lahti, Finland, into a Lutheran family. He converted to Roman Catholicism in 1966. Four years later he decided to start studying to become a priest. He became a professed member of the Congregation of the Priests of the Sacred Heart in 1970 and entered the seminary at the University of Freiburg. He wrote his Master's thesis on Paul Tillich's principle of Protestantism. His thesis advisor was Karl Lehmann. He was ordained a priest on May 28, 1977.