Our Lady of the Dolores of Riga
On the shore of the castle of Riga, by the bank of the Daugava, the Church of Our Lady of the Dolores (Church of Our Lady of Pain) is the first Catholic stone temple built in the city after the Reformation. On July 28, 1785, in a classicist style, he has on his facade a Pietà of stone inherited from the Jesuits: an image of the painful Mother who for centuries symbolized the oppressed faith in the Mariana Land.
🌹 Wonders and anecdotes
- The church was born of the commitment of Father Isidor Schmidt, cappuccino, whose modest chapel drew the attention of Emperor Joseph II during his visit to Riga in 1780; the monarch promised to intercede before Catherine II of Russia to allow the construction, and so he did, contributing himself and his mother, Empress Mary Teresa, with donations for the work.
- The works began in 1783 and the temple was consecrated on July 28, 1785 in honor of Our Lady of the Dolores: its classicist style responds to the imperial ordinance to harmonize the new buildings with the Plaza del Castillo (Castle Square), of which the temple is immediate neighbor.
- On the outside facade, in front of the castle, a petca figure of the Pietà - the Mother holding Christ dead - the legacy of the Jesuits who inhabited the ancient church of Santiago is preserved; when in 1785 that temple passed to Catholics as a cathedral, the Lutheran community generously gave the image to the new Marian church, with the Latin inscription ‘Hoc iam diu’ and the year 1786.
- Between 1859 and 1860 the architect rigatense Johann Felsko carried out a reform in Neorromanic style that moved the presbytery to the Daugava and rehashed the facade; in 1895 Wilhelm Bockslaff added a Neorrenacentist octagonal baptistery on the western side, which gives the temple its characteristic profile today.
- Our Lady of the Dolores is one of the oldest Catholic temples in Riga and the first of new plants built in the city after the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century, which makes it a symbol of the resistance of the Catholic faith in the Baltic.
Our Lady of the Dolores (Sāpju Dievmāte)
The Church of Our Lady of the Dolores of Riga, raised between 1783 and 1785 with the support of Emperor Joseph II and Empress Mary Teresa, was the first new Catholic temple in the city after the Reformation. Its white and blue facade holds a Pietà inherited from the Jesuits, eloquent sign of the persevering faith of the Catholics of the Terra Mariana.
"Our Lady of the Dolores, who held your Son in your arms and remained faithful by the cross, accompanies those who suffer in this Baltic city and brings his pain to the merciful heart of Christ.
Is the advocation of the Virgin Mary of your people missing?
Si no encuentras la advocación mariana de tu ciudad o pueblo, cuéntanosla: la investigaremos para ubicarla y darla a conocer en este mapa del amor de la Madre por el mundo.
Propose an apvocation →