About the Church
The Roman Catholic Church of St John the Baptist in Raģeļi stands in the village of Raģeļi, in the Krāslava region, in Latgale, and belongs to the Diocese of Rēzekne–Aglona.
The first wooden church on this site, on an ancient Latgalian hillfort, was built around 1780. In the summer of 1941, during the Second World War, it burned down. A former almshouse building was adapted for the new church; it was renovated and consecrated in 1956, the consecration led by Janis Strods, dean of Aglona. Later, through the efforts of Fr Donatas Punculis, the church was faced with sand-lime brick and roofed with sheet metal. It serves a small local Catholic community.
The first wooden church on this site, on an ancient Latgalian hillfort, was built around 1780. In the summer of 1941, during the Second World War, it burned down. A former almshouse building was adapted for the new church; it was renovated and consecrated in 1956, the consecration led by Janis Strods, dean of Aglona. Later, through the efforts of Fr Donatas Punculis, the church was faced with sand-lime brick and roofed with sheet metal. It serves a small local Catholic community.