The Catholic Church of Latvia () is part of the worldwide

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, under the spiritual leadership of the

Pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. In 2021, there were approximately 370,000 Catholics in the country - 19% of the total population.US State Dept 2022 report
/ref> Catholics in Latvia are mainly found in the easternmost region of

Latgale Latgale (; ; ; ; ; ; Belarusian Latin alphabet, Belarusian Latin: ''Łathalija''; ), also known as Latgalia or Latgallia, is one of the Historical Latvian Lands. It is the easternmost region of the country and lies north of the Daugava River. Wh ...

and most are ethnic

Latgalians Latgalians (, , modern ; variant translations also include Latgallians, Lettigalls or Lettigallians) were an ancient Baltic tribe. They likely spoke a variant of Latvian language, which probably became the ''lingua franca'' in present-day Latvia ...

History

The Catholic Church has been present in the area that now constitutes the

Republic of Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

since Saint Canute IV in the mid-11th century brought Christianity to

Courland Courland is one of the Historical Latvian Lands in western Latvia. Courland's largest city is Liepāja, which is the third largest city in Latvia. The regions of Semigallia and Selonia are sometimes considered as part of Courland as they were ...

and

Livonia Livonia, known in earlier records as Livland, is a historical region on the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea. It is named after the Livonians, who lived on the shores of present-day Latvia. By the end of the 13th century, the name was extende ...

St. Canute IV
''Catholic Encyclopedia'', retrieved: 2007-04-28 and the first Christian church was built 1048 in Courland.Baznīcas vēsture 11. gadsimts
''catholic.lv'', retrieved: 2007-04-28 Bishop Albert of Riga and the

Livonian Brothers of the Sword The Livonian Brothers of the Sword (; ) was a Catholic Church, Catholic Military order (monastic society), military order established in 1202 during the Livonian Crusade by Albert of Riga, Albert, the third bishop of Riga (or possibly by Theode ...

were the first to initiate organized Christianization of all the indigenous people in the early 13th century - at the time tribal cultures like the

Curonians :''The Kursenieki are also sometimes known as Curonians.'' The Curonians or Kurs (; ) were a medieval Balts, Baltic tribe living on the shores of the Baltic Sea in the 5th–16th centuries, in what are now western parts of Latvia and Lithuania. ...

, the Latgallians, the

Livs The Livonians, or Livs, are a Balto-Finnic people indigenous to the Livonian Coast, in northwestern Latvia. Livonians historically spoke Livonian, a Uralic language closely related to Estonian and Finnish. It was believed that the last person ...

, the

Selonians The Selonians (; , from – "highlanders") were a tribe of Baltic peoples. They lived until the 15th century in Selonia, located in southeastern Latvia and northeastern Lithuania. They eventually merged with neighbouring tribes, contributing ...

and the

Semigallians Semigallians (; ; also ''Zemgalians'', ''Semigalls'' or ''Semigalians'') were the Balts, Baltic tribe that lived in the south central part of contemporary Latvia and northern Lithuania. They are noted for their long resistance (1219–1290) agai ...

Organization

The highest office in the Catholic Church of Latvia was held from 1991 to 2010 by

Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

Jānis Pujats. On 19 June 2010,

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

accepted the retirement of Archbishop Pujats and appointed

Zbigņevs Stankevičs Zbigņevs Stankevičs (; born 15 February 1955) is a Latvian Catholic prelate who has served as Archbishop of Riga since 2010. He previously served in leadership at the Seminary Institute of Religious Sciences in Riga. Ecclesiastical career ...

as his successor.''RINUNCIA DELL’ARCIVESCOVO METROPOLITA DI RIGA (LETTONIA) E NOMINA DEL SUCCESSORE''
, Vatican Information Service, 19 June 2010 The Catholic Church of Latvia is divided into one archdiocese and three dioceses: * Archdiocese of Rīga ** Diocese of Jelgava ** Diocese of Liepāja ** Diocese of Rēzekne-Aglona

References and notes

External links

Romas katoļu baznīca Latvijā

Catholic Hierarchy

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

{{RC-country-stub

History

Organization

See also

References and notes

External links