Follingius, who initially wrote his name Folling or Follinger, was the son of peasants from Östergötland.
He was educated at the Cathedral School in Linköping and later continued his studies at the University of Copenhagen.
In 1558 he was appointed as a Bishop of Turku, based on the advice of Andreas Olai.
He was one of the first bishops to interact with the local clergy and was deeply involved in how parishes can be coordinated.
Nonetheless, in May 1563 he was deposed by Eric XIV of Sweden, partly due to the complaints by Finnish clergy and also possibly due to suspicions that he was in sympathy with Duke John.