Cathedral of the Immaculate Virgin Mary or the Cathedral of Our Lady () is the cathedral church of the
Diocese of Jelgava, is located in
Jelgava
Jelgava () is a state city in central Latvia. It is located about southwest of Riga. It is the largest town in the Semigallia region of Latvia. Jelgava was the capital of the united Duchy of Courland and Semigallia (1578–1795) and was the ad ...
,
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 ...
.
History
The previous church, demolished in 1904 due to risk of collapse, dates from 1630. The new church was built in 1906 and designed by Carl Strandmann and consecrated in honor of
St. George
Saint George (;Geʽez: ጊዮርጊስ, , ka, გიორგი, , , died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was an early Christian martyr who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to holy tradition, he was a soldier in the ...
. In 1925, Bishop Jāzeps Rancāns re-consecrated the church to the
Immaculate Virgin. During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, in July 1944, the church burned. After the war the restoration of the church began using as building materials the building blocks of previous walls. The works lasted until 1958. Further restoration work and interior finishing were completed in 1969. With the creation of the Diocese of Jelgava on December 2, 1995, in the Apostolicum ministerium Bula of Pope
John Paul II
Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005.
In his you ...
, the church was elevated to cathedral status.
See also
*
Roman Catholicism in Latvia
*
St. Mary's Cathedral (disambiguation)
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Immaculate Virgin Mary, Church
Roman Catholic cathedrals in Latvia
Buildings and structures in Jelgava
Roman Catholic churches completed in 1906
1630 establishments in Europe
20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Latvia