St. St. James’s Cathedral celebrates the centenary of status / Article

The church located in the center of Old Riga, next to the Saeima, was once outside the borders of Riga and was a place of prayer for rural workers. Its history is checkered. As the authorities changed, wars raged, and the church itself split, the owners changed several times.

In recent years, the number one Catholic church has undergone extensive restoration works. Large burials were also discovered during them, some of which can now be seen in the church. Among the discoveries is also an inscription on the ceiling next to a bricked-in ball, which reminds of the attacks of the Russian tsarist.

The church has also played a special role in recent history. During the barricades, a place was set up here to receive the wounded and the congregation spent the whole night in prayers.

The parish celebrated the centenary of the cathedral status on Sunday with a special service and a garden festival. There are several people in the congregation who have been associated with the cathedral for several decades. Recently, priest John Paul Chidjebele Agbaefuna from Nigeria joined the cathedral.

“I feel good. I feel accepted. I’m happy to be here, my first impression is that people are very welcoming. Because when I arrived, I arrived on June 8 and it was my birthday. And I was already greeted at the airport with cake and gifts! I felt very welcome. I’m happy to be here,” admitted the priest.

Next year St. Jacob’s Cathedral will celebrate the 800th anniversary since the construction of the church itself. It is planned that the repair works will be finished by then.

Although for the last hundred years the St. James Cathedral has been the seat of the Catholic archbishop, the restored rooster at the top of the tower reminds of the importance of the building for the Lutheran denomination over several centuries.

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