The Cathedral of Saint Joseph ( lv, Liepājas Svētā Jāzepa Romas katoļu katedrāle) is the cathedral church of the
Diocese of Liepāja located in
Liepāja
Liepāja (; liv, Līepõ; see #Names and toponymy, other names) is a state city in western Latvia, located on the Baltic Sea. It is the largest-city in the Kurzeme Planning Region, Kurzeme Region and the third-largest city in the country after R ...
,
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 ...
.
History
Liepaja originally had a small wooden church built in 1508 and dedicated to Saint Ann. Around 1560 the church was converted to Lutheran worship. After the Reformation, the faithful of the Catholic Church had to travel to Lithuania to receive baptism and the other sacraments, because they did not have a place of Catholic worship available.
In 1747 a small stone church dedicated to
St. Joseph
Joseph (; el, Ἰωσήφ, translit=Ioséph) was a 1st-century Jewish man of Nazareth who, according to the canonical Gospels, was married to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and was the legal father of Jesus. The Gospels also name some brothers ...
was built in Liepāja. Religious services were conducted initially only on the third Sunday of each month. With the development of the city and the increased number of the faithful, the old church soon became too small. Intone carried out the construction of a new neo-Romanesque church, designed by architect Luis Melvil. It was completed and consecrated in 1911 in honor of St. Joseph.
On May 8, 1937 with the bull ''Aeterna salus animarum'' Pope
Pius XI
Pope Pius XI ( it, Pio XI), born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti (; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939), was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 to his death in February 1939. He was the first sovereign of Vatican City from ...
erected the Diocese of Liepaja and the church of St. Joseph was elevated to cathedral status.
See also
*
Catholic Church in Latvia
The Catholic Church of Latvia is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome.
There are around 476,700 Catholics — around 22.7% of the total population. Catholics in Latvia are mainly found in the ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Joseph Cathedral, Liepaja
Roman Catholic cathedrals in Latvia
Buildings and structures in Liepāja
Roman Catholic churches completed in 1911
20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Latvia