Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Riga

Archdiocese of Riga Archidioecesis Rigensis
Location
Country	Latvia
Statistics
Area	23,587 km2 (9,107 sq mi)
Population - Total - Catholics	(as of 2004) 1,350,000 200,000 (14.8%)
Information
Rite	Latin Rite
Cathedral	Svētā Jēkaba Katedrāle (Cathedral Basilica of St. James)
Current leadership
Bishop	Zbigņevs Stankevičs
Emeritus Bishops	Jānis Pujats (cardinal) Jānis Cakuls (auxiliary)
Map
Location of Archdiocese of Riga in Latvia

Not to be confused with the secular state Archbishopric of Riga

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Riga (Latin: Rigen(sis)) is an archdiocese administered from the capital city of Riga in Latvia. It's cathedral is Svētā Jēkaba Katedrāle. It is a metropolitan archdiocese which also helps to administer three suffragan dioceses in the Ecclesiastical province of Riga in Latvia.

History

• 1186: Established as Diocese of Üxküll
• 1 October 1188: Designated a suffragan of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Hamburg-Bremen, Germany^[1]
• 1202: Renamed as Diocese of Riga
• 20 January 1255: Promoted as Metropolitan Archdiocese of Riga^[2]
• 1561: Suppressed
• 22 September 1918: Restored as Diocese of Riga from territory of Vidzeme, Latgale, and Estonia
• 9 June 1920: Added territory of Courland and Zemgale from Diocese of Samogitia^[3]
• 25 October 1923: Promoted as Archdiocese of Riga^[4]
• 1 November 1924: Lost territory to new Apostolic Administration of Estonia^[5]
• 8 May 1937: Promoted as Metropolitan Archdiocese of Riga^[6]; lost territory to new Diocese of Liepāja^[7]
• 2 December 1995: Lost territory to new Diocese of Rēzekne–Aglona^[8]

Leadership

• Bishops of Riga (Roman rite)
  • Eduard O’Rourke (29 Sep 1918 - 10 Apr 1920)
  • Antonijs Springovičs (14 Apr 1920 - 25 Oct 1923)
• Titular Bishops and Apostolic Administrators of Riga
  • Pēteris Strods (1 Oct 1958 – 5 Aug 1960)
  • Julijans Cardinal Vaivods (10 Nov 1964 - 24 May 1990)
  • Jānis Cakuls (23 May 1990 - 8 May 1991)
• Archbishops of Riga
  • Antonijs Springovičs (25 Oct 1923 - 1 Oct 1958)
  • Jānis Cardinal Pujats (8 May 1991 - 19 Jun 2010)
  • Zbigņevs Stankevičs (19 Jun 2010 - )

Suffragan dioceses

• Jelgava
• Liepāja
• Rēzekne–Aglona

See also

• Roman Catholicism in Latvia
• Concordat of 1922

Sources

• Giga-Catholic Information
• Catholic Hierarchy

References

1. ^ Jānis Broks (2002), Katolicisms Latvijā 800 Gados: 1186-1986, Vēsturisks Atskats, p. 40, ISBN 9984-619-40-0
2. ^ Broks, p. 62
3. ^ Samogitiensis et Rigensis: De finium dioecesanorum commutatione, Acta Apostolicae Sedis, Volume 12 (1920), p. 270
4. ^ Rigensis: Erectionis in archiepiscopatum, Acta Apostolicae Sedis, Volume 15 (1923), p. 585
5. ^ Toomas Abiline and Indrek Oper (2006?), St Peter and St Paul's Cathedral in Tallinn, The Apostolic Administration of Estonia, Tallinn, p. 10
6. ^ Rigensis: Archiepiscopalis ecclesia Rigensis ad metropolitanae ecclesiae gradum et dignitatem evehitur novaque provincia ecclesiastica sub nomine <<Rigensis>> in Lettonia constituitur, Acta Apostolicae Sedis, Volume 29 (1937), p. 387
7. ^ Liepaiensis: A Rigensis archidioecesis territorio pars seiungitur, ex qua nova erigitur dioecesis <<Liepaiensis>> nuncupanda, Acta Apostolicae Sedis, Volume 29 (1937), p. 384
8. ^ Rezeknensis-Aglonensis: In Lettonia nova conditur dioecesis Rezeknensis-Aglonensis, Acta Apostolicae Sedis, Volume 88 (1996), p. 344