The Christ the King Roman Catholic Church

Kuldīgas iela 3, Aizpute, Dienvidkurzemes novads

+371 26578580, +371 63449990

The Christ the King Roman Catholic Church in Aizpute has a rich history. The first Catholic church in Aizpute was built in 1254. In the 1580s, due to historical events, it became a Lutheran church. In 1732, the pastor of Jelgava parish, J. Genners, bought a house in Aizpute and converted it into a chapel for Catholics. About a century later, this building was in danger of collapsing, and in 1853, the priest of Vecpils, Jāzeps Sandovičs, entered into an agreement with the innkeeper Antonevičs, which later turned out to be disadvantageous for the church. Under this agreement, the church rented land to the innkeeper for 53 years, and in exchange, the innkeeper built a new chapel for the church.

In 1935, priest J. Dauģis managed to recover the land and buildings previously leased under the contract, and he began considering the construction of a new church. After World War II, the Soviet authorities nationalized the church's properties, leaving only an old wooden house on the street, which was not suitable for a church. In 1955, with the bishop's permission, the old wooden church in Gudenieki was demolished and transferred to Aizpute. Using the materials, priest J. Šnepsts rebuilt the old building at Kuldīgas iela 3 into a church in 1956. That same year, it was consecrated as a church by the then-apostolic administrator of the Liepāja diocese, Julijans Vaivods, and dedicated to the glory of Christ the King. This became the only church built during the Soviet era in Latvia.

On November 15, 2002, the church's foundation stone was consecrated, and a special capsule containing a certificate of the consecration, coins, a St. Benedict medal, and a rosary was sealed into the foundation. On April 18, 2009, the consecration of the new Aizpute Church took place, led by the bishop of the Liepāja diocese, Vilhelms Lapelis, along with Bishop Ārvaldis Andrejs Brumani and priests, dedicating it to the glory of St. Ignatius of Loyola.