Zbigņevs Stankevičs

Zbigņevs Stankevičs (Polish: Zbigniew Stankiewicz; born 15 February 1955) is a Latvian prelate of the Catholic Church. He has been metropolitan Archbishop of Riga since 2010. He previously served as Spiritual Director and Director of the Seminary Institute of Religious Sciences in Riga.

The Most Reverend

Zbigņevs Stankevičs
Archbishop of Riga
ChurchRoman Catholic
ArchdioceseRiga
MetropolisRiga
SeeRiga
Appointed19 June 2010
Installed21 August 2010
PredecessorCardinal Jānis Pujats
Orders
Ordination16 June 1996
by Jānis Pujats
Consecration8 August 2010
by Jānis Pujats
Personal details
Birth nameZbigņev Stankevičs
Born (1955-02-15) 15 February 1955
Lejasciems, Latvia
Nationality Latvian
OccupationArchbishop of Riga
MottoFortitudo mea Dominus
Coat of arms
Styles of
Zbigņevs Stankevičs
Reference styleThe Most Reverend
Spoken styleYour Excellency
Religious styleArchbishop
Posthumous stylenot applicable

Ecclesiastical career

Stankevičs was born in Lejasciems into a family of Polish descent. In 1978, he obtained the Diploma in Engineering at the Riga Polytechnical Institute. He worked for 12 years prior to pursuing religious studies, first at a naval centre and then at a bank. At that time, he was Vice President of the 'Polish Union of Latvia'. After the fall of communism in Europe and the restoration of Latvian independence he entered the seminary in 1990 in Lublin, Poland. He studied philosophy and theology at the Catholic University of Lublin, receiving a Masters in Theology in 1996. He was ordained a priest on 16 June 1996 for the archdiocese of Riga.[1]

After ordination he held the following positions: assistant priest of St Francis Parish in Riga (1996–2001), chaplain of the Missionary Sisters of Charity (1996–1999), Assistant Community charismatic "Effata", Spiritual Director Major Seminary of Riga (1999–2001).

From 2002 to 2008 he completed his studies in Rome at the Pontifical Lateran University, where he obtained his licentiate and doctorate summa cum laude in Fundamental Theology. During his stay in Rome, he was Director of the Blessed Pius IX Residence of the Pontifical Lateran University. In 2008, he became spiritual director of the Riga Major Seminary, director of the Institute of Religious Studies and assistant priest of Christ the King Parish in Riga.

In addition to Latvian and Polish, he also speaks Lithuanian, Russian, Italian and English, and knows French and German.[1]

Pope Benedict XVI appointed him metropolitan Archbishop of Riga on 19 June 2010.[1] He was consecrated a bishop on 8 August 2010 by Cardinal Pujats, assisted by Archbishop Luigi Bonazzi, the apostolic nuncio to the Baltic states, and by Archbishop Józef Kowalczyk, the primate of Poland. The ceremony was held in the Evangelical Lutheran cathedral in Riga, which had been the Catholic cathedral prior to the Protestant Reformation, because the current seat of the Catholic Archdiocese, St. James Cathedral, was too small to accommodate invited dignitaries, including Latvian president Valdis Zatlers.[2] He was installed in the Cathedral of St. James on 21 August.[3] Cardinal Joachim Meisner, Archbishop of Cologne, also attended.[4]

On 12 June 2012 he was appointed a member of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity for a five-year renewable term.[5]

In October 2015, he attended the Synod of Bishops on the Family as the elected representative of the Episcopal Conference of Latvia.[6][7]

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See also
  • Roman Catholic Church of Latvia

References
  1. "Rinunce e Nomine, 19.06.2010" (Press release) (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. 19 June 2010. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
  2. Evertovskis, J. (9 August 2010). "Doma baznīcā iesvētīts jaunais Rīgas arhib. Zbigņevs Stankevičs" (in Latvian). Vatican Radio. Archived from the original on 21 March 2012.
  3. "Amatā stājas jaunais katoļu baznīcas arhibīskaps Zbigņevs Stankevičs". Diena (in Latvian). 21 August 2010. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
  4. "Zbigņevs Stankevičs pārņēma Rīgas arhidiecēzes vadību". D-Fakti (in Latvian). 23 August 2010. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
  5. "Rinunce e Nomine, 12.06.2012" (Press release) (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. 12 June 2012. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
  6. "XIV Assemblea Generale Ordinaria del Sinodo dei Vescovi (4-25 ottobre 2015) - Elenco dei Partecipanti, 15.09.2015" (Press release) (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. 15 September 2015. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
  7. Gaspari, Antonio (20 October 2015). "Bishops Are United in Defending Marriage, Family". Zenit. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
Catholic Church titles
Preceded by
Jānis Pujats		 Archbishop of Riga
19 June 2010–incumbent		 Succeeded by
incumbent
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