Antonijs Springovičs (1 November 1876 – 1 October 1958) was a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

Latvian prelate who became the first Archbishop of Riga in 1923.

Early years

Antonijs Springovičs was born on 31 October 1876 in

Rēzekne Rēzekne (, ; German: ''Rositten'') is a state city in the Rēzekne River valley in Latgale region of eastern Latvia. It is called ''The Heart of Latgale'' (Latvian ''Latgales sirds'', Latgalian ''Latgolys sirds''). Built on seven hills, Rēzekn ...

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

. In 1897 he joined the seminary in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

. He received a

Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

Theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

. He was ordained priest by Bolesław Hieronim Kłopotowski, the

Archbishop of Mohilev The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mohilev (or Mogilev or Mahilyow) was a territorial Latin rite division of the Roman Catholic Church, covering a significant western proportion of the territory of the Tsarist Russian empire. History It was ere ...

on 24 June 1901.

Bishop of Riga

On 29 September 1918, the Diocese of Riga was restored and Eduard O'Rourke was appointed as the first bishop. O'Rourke's position in Riga was problematic as German forces occupied the city in early 1919. By the end of World War I, the ecclesiastical organisation was largely destroyed, and only a few priests were active. O'Rourke did not speak Latvian but tried to encourage Latvian priests. He resigned after a new government in Latvia was appointed and there was a popular movement calling for an ethnic Latvian bishop. Thus on 14 April 1920

Pope Benedict XV Pope Benedict XV (Latin: ''Benedictus XV''; it, Benedetto XV), born Giacomo Paolo Giovanni Battista della Chiesa, name=, group= (; 21 November 185422 January 1922), was head of the Catholic Church from 1914 until his death in January 1922. His ...

appointed Springovičs as O'Rourke's successor with the bull ''Hodies nos''. He was consecrated bishop on 22 August 1920 by

Juozapas Skvireckas Juozapas Skvireckas (1873–1959) was a Lithuanian archbishop of Kaunas (1926–1959). In 1911–1937 he translated the Bible into the Lithuanian language; it was published in six volumes by the Society of Saint Casimir. During the occupation of ...

Metropolitan Archbishop

On 25 November 1923 Springovičs was appointed as the first archbishop of Riga after the diocese was elevated on 25 October 1923. In November 1926 he was awarded the Latvian

Order of the Three Stars Order of the Three Stars ( lv, Triju Zvaigžņu ordenis) is the highest civilian order awarded for meritorious service to Latvia. It was established in 1924 in remembrance of the founding of Latvia. Its motto is "Per aspera ad astra", meaning "Thr ...

. On 8 May 1937 Springovičs became metropolitan archbishop after the

suffragan A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Anglican Communion, a suffragan bishop is a bishop who is subordinate to a metropolitan bishop or diocesan bishop (bishop ordinary) and so is not normally jurisdictiona ...

Diocese of Liepāja was created. In 1939 he was awarded an honorary doctorate from the

University of Latvia University of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Universitāte, shortened ''LU'') is a state-run university located in Riga, Latvia established in 1919. The ''QS World University Rankings'' places the university between 801st and 1000th globally, seventh ...

Soviet occupation

Archbishop Springovičs faced numerous challenges during the

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

occupation. The Faculty of Theology in the

was closed and its library books were confiscated. Springovičs remained in

under the pretext of poor health after he was ordered to leave. On 7 March 1946 the Major Seminary of Riga was reopened after it was closed by the Soviets. Archbishop Springovičs died on October 1, 1958. His funeral took place on October 6 in

St. James's Cathedral, Riga St James's Cathedral (, ) is the Roman Catholic cathedral of Riga in Latvia. The cathedral is dedicated to Saint James the Greater. The building is part of the Old Riga UNESCO World Heritage Site and lies directly opposite the House of the Livonia ...

. The requiem mass was celebrated by Bishop Pēteris Strods. Springovičs was buried in St Michael's cemetery in

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...

Ecclesiastical appointments

* 1901 - 1905: School chaplain * 1905 - 1917: Dean of

Līksna Līksna (german: Lixna, pl, Liksna) is a village in Līksna Parish, Augšdaugava Municipality in the Latgale region of Latvia. It is the birthplace of Eduard von der Ropp, a Roman Catholic bishop in Tiraspol, Vilnius and Mahiliou. It was als ...

* 1917 - 1918: General Vicar of Mohilev * 1918 - 1920: General Vicar of Riga * 1920 - 1923: Bishop of Riga * 1923 - 1937: Archbishop of Riga * 1937 - 1958: Metropolitan Archbishop of Riga

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Springovics, Antonijs 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Latvia 1876 births 1958 deaths Archbishops of Riga