About the Church
The Roman Catholic church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Jēkabpils stands in the city of Jēkabpils on the Daugava river, in the historic region of Selonia. It is a parish church of the Diocese of Jelgava.
The first wooden church here was built in 1670–1675, with materials for the construction donated by Duke Jacob of Courland. The present masonry shrine was built in 1853–1866 by the parish priest Justinas Bogdanovičius. On the second day of Easter in 1903 the church was damaged by fire, but the image of the Blessed Virgin Mary survived among the ruins; the shrine was rebuilt in 1903–1909.
The plastered masonry building was erected in the Romanesque style and is about 28 metres long. In 1933 Bishop Jāzeps Rancāns consecrated it under the title of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Today services are held in the church daily, Mass is celebrated in Latvian and Polish, and the shrine remains an important centre of Catholic life in the city.
The first wooden church here was built in 1670–1675, with materials for the construction donated by Duke Jacob of Courland. The present masonry shrine was built in 1853–1866 by the parish priest Justinas Bogdanovičius. On the second day of Easter in 1903 the church was damaged by fire, but the image of the Blessed Virgin Mary survived among the ruins; the shrine was rebuilt in 1903–1909.
The plastered masonry building was erected in the Romanesque style and is about 28 metres long. In 1933 Bishop Jāzeps Rancāns consecrated it under the title of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Today services are held in the church daily, Mass is celebrated in Latvian and Polish, and the shrine remains an important centre of Catholic life in the city.