Table of Contents

1. Overview
2. Location and Surroundings
3. Origins and Early History
4. The Apparition of the Blessed Virgin
5. The Original Church
6. The History of the Present Basilica and Monastery
7. The Miraculous Icon
8. Pilgrimages
9. The Aglona Spring
10. The Aglona Library
11. Aglona in Independent Latvia
12. Aglona Under Communist Rule
13. Tourist Information

Overview

Aglona is the site of the most important religious shrine in Latvia, the basilica of Our Lady of Aglona. It is located in Latgale, the eastern part of Latvia, which historically has been a Catholic stronghold of Latvia. For more than two hundred years the Aglona church has been a traditional place of pilgrimage for Latvian Catholics. Pilgrims gather there for major church holy days throughout the year, particularly Pentecost and the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary on August 15. It is particularly the Feast of the Assumption, the feast of the Aglona shrine itself, that has become the most popular time of pilgrimage in Latvia.

The veneration of the Mother of God on this feast is most appropriate in Latvia since historically the country has been known as “the Land of Mary” ( designated as Terra Mariana by Pope Innocent III in 1215). In fact Christian missionaries to Latvia instilled devotion to Mary. Bishop Meinard had begun the preaching of the Christian faith on the shores of the Daugava in the name of the Virgin Mary and, establishing the bishopric of Ikskile, he declared it under the protection of the Virgin Mary. This tradition was continued by Bishop Albert in building a cathedral in Riga in 1215 which he dedicated to the honor of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. After the Reformation, when the Jesuits arrived in Latvia in 1582, they also carried on their mission under the sign of Mary. The Dominicans did the same, erecting their churches in honor of Mary.

After the creation of an independent Latvia, Aglona became the center of Latvian Catholicism. The fame of the Aglona shrine reached well beyond Latvia and began to attract pilgrims from neighboring regions, including Russia, Belorussia and Lithuania. When the Communists took control of the country, they attempted to restrict its activities and wanted to close it completely. The shrine and its faithful supporters suffered greatly. However in spite of the repression during the Communist period, pilgrims continued to gather there and the shrine became the most popular religious site in the entire Soviet Union. At times as many as 100,000 pilgrims would gather for the August 15 feast. Aglona not only managed to survive the Soviet persecution, but in the last years of Communist rule, it experienced a significant revival.

Location and Surroundings

Located in southeastern Latgale 25 kilometers southeast of Preili and 40 kilometers northeast of Daugavpils, the Aglona shrine is situated in a scenic rural area of many lakes. It also lies in a location of considerable historic interest since nearby are many ancient Latgalian castle mounds. There is no other area in Latvia where there is a single such large concentration of ancient castle mounds as around present-day Aglona. In the middle of this region of about twenty mounds is the large, beautiful castle mound at Madelani, which is located three kilometers from the the Aglona basilica. At the foot of this mound archeologists have recently uncovered the remains of ancient Latgalian towns. There is evidence that in the 10th to the 13th centuries this was a well- populated Latgalian region which was protected by many castles.

Origins and Early History

The origins of the Aglona church date back to the end of the 17th century. In 1697 a prominent landowner Eva Justine Shostowicka-Selicka, the owner of the nearby Rusone estate invited the Dominican Order from Lithuania to establish a monastery and church school. She bequeathed to the Dominicans a large property consisting of her estate of Viskovo (which she had inherited from her father Waclaw Selicki) with 90 peasant farmsteads. She hoped that the Dominicans would strengthen Catholicism in the region. At that time Latgale had few churches and the people still observed various pagan practices. The first Dominican to come there was Remigej Mosokowski, the Provincial of the Vilna Dominicans who arrived in August 1698. The foundation act dated, April 8, 1700, was ratified by bishop Michael Poplawski, the Polish monarch Augustus II, and Pope Innocent XII.

The Apparition of the Blessed Virgin

On August 15, 1698 there was a reported apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary to Anna, a Latgalian girl who was living on the Viskovo estate. The Blessed Mother, who appeared to Anna while she was in evening prayers, was holding the Child Jesus with her right arm. Father Remigej himself saw a vision of a white church with tall steeples. Father Remigej would become the first prior of the Aglona monastery. It was he who undertook the building of the monastery and the first church. There also was a women’s cloister starting in 1700.

The Original Church

It is not certain when the very first church was built at Aglona. The first known church at Aglona was an old wooden structure which still stood at the end of the 16th century but later burned down. It was located at the site of the present cemetery. The original Dominican church at Aglona, also made of wood, was built in 1700. A wooden monastery had been built a year earlier. On September 10, 1751 Josef Dominik Kozelskis-Puzina, the bishop of Livonia (1741-1752) dedicated this church in honor of the assumption into heaven of the Holy Virgin Mary. The interior of the first church was ornately decorated with the miraculous icon on the main alter flanked by two small side altars. It had religious paintings of Our Lady of Loretto, the Trinity, St. Dominic, St. John the Baptist, and the Crucified Jesus as well as various ornaments and decorations. Since the church burned, its unclear how much if any of the interior items were saved.

The first years for the Dominicans in Aglona were extremely difficult. They had to live through wars and political struggles such as the conflicts between the pretenders to the Polish throne as well as the Great Northern War between Russia and Sweden (1700-1721). Various armies crisscrossed Latgale, robbing, killing and destroying. In these conditions, naturally, the Dominican fathers found it difficult to live and work according to their monastic rules, but they did much to ease the hardship of the people. They helped them with both material and spiritual needs. As a result the people became very fond of them, referring to them as the “white fathers” (the garb of the Dominicans is a white cassock). It was actually in these very difficult times, filled with some terrible events, that pilgrims began to come to Aglona in great numbers in order to pray for help and comfort at the miraculous icon of Our Lady.

The History of the Present Basilica and Monastery

The wooden church burned down in 1766 but the Dominicans resolved to rebuild it. In 1768 they razed the wooden church and began the construction of a new, larger brick church, the present Aglona basilica, in a different location closer to Lake Egle. This church closely resembled the Dominican church at Trakai in Lithuania. While the new church was being constructed a temporary stone church was built with a tile roof resembling a tent. The new prior of the monastery Remigej Zahorowski was in charge of the construction. He had become prominent building cloisters and seminaries in Lithuania. The church was completed in 1780 but much interior work remained to be done. Over the next two decades much interior decoration was performed as well as work on the towers. The church is built in the Italian Baroque style with twin three-tiered towers which are 56 meters high. The church can hold 6000 people. The new church was consecrated in 1800 by the suffragan bishop of Mogilev, Jan Benislawski in honor of the assumption of Mary, just like the first church. Its official name is Assumptio Beatae Mariae Virginis. The Dominicans hoped that this beautiful cathedral would become the residence of the archbishop.

The main altar is a magnificent two-tiered structure. At the top stands the miraculous icon of the Blessed Virgin while below are wood carvings, statues of saints and small paintings of saints in rounded frames. Six pillars divide the interior of the church into three parts. In the early 1800’s the exterior walls of the church were plastered and whitewashed. Two side altars dedicated to St. Thomas and St. Mary Magdalen were built in 1827. Additional work on the interior work continued into the 1800’s. Major renovations took place in the 1830’s and 1850’s. In 1835 a metal roof was put in place. Religious paintings and crosses were added in the 1830’s and additional altars added later. Presently the church has a total of eight altars located in the side naves and at the pillars.

There are six bells in the tower, the largest of which was made in Vilna by Daniel Verner and consecrated in honor of St.Dominic on August 14, 1839. The organ, originally brought from the wooden church and restored in 1870 has 18 registers and is one of the oldest in Latvia.

The original monastery was also destroyed in the fire that consumed the church in 1766. A new, two-story stone monastery was constructed at same time as the new church. The building is T-shaped with long corridors and 30 cells. On the cell doors are pictures of saints and various priests, painted by the monks themselves. One of the most distinguished was Brother Isidor who created the St. John the Baptist painting in 1834. Next to the cloister was a large park and garden with apple trees, berry bushes and fish ponds. This garden and the church yard were enclosed by a large white stone fence 1.5 meters tall.

By the late 1800’s Aglona was already established as one of the important religious centers of Latgale. Also from the very beginning it had a parish school, established in 1699 in the monastery building. Being one of the few parish schools in Latgale, it was supported by the monastery. Also, a theological seminary was established in 1820. Modeled after the seminary at Vilna it was established to prepare priests for work in parishes of Latgale. It was closed by Russian officials in 1832. The monastery, which belonged to the Lithuanian province of the Dominicans, continued to function until 1880 when it was also closed by the Russian government.

The Miraculous Icon

Among the stories about the origin of the miraculous icon is that in 1708 a famine spread across all of Latgale but the residents of the Aglona village were saved from it thanks to the protection of Our Lady of Aglona. In 1718 the bishop of Vilna, Konstantin Bzestowski, ordered a gold crown for it. There is other evidence that this historic holy painting of the Holy Mother was already there from the very start. The inscription on the silver shroud prepared in Vilna in 1834 read: “the true picture of Our Lady of Aglona famous for miracles for 134 years”. This shroud was later replaced with one made in 1875.

Over the years the icon came to be associated with special powers as many people testified to favors granted through its intercession. Countless such stories came to be reported. Presently visible in the church there are many signs of appreciation and gratitude. Below the painting on the altar are many symbols of various sizes and shapes, including silver hearts and crutches left as permanent testament to answered prayers and personal “miracles”.

The icon is made visible for the public only for special services. It is usually covered by a another painting of the Assumption of Mary into heaven.

Pilgrimages

In the twentieth century, besides pilgrimages by individuals, parish churches would organize groups of pilgrims. These would be previously announced by the pastors of parishes throughout Latvia. Pilgrims from farther distances gathered in their churches several days before the Aglona feast itself. After attending Holy Mass in their own parish church, they set out on their journey in a special procession. The group was led by a cross bearer followed by banners, then came the priest, followed by the pilgrims carrying banners, holy pictures and singing hymns and reciting the rosary. Along the route they would stop at the wayside crosses common in Latgale, recite appropriate prayers and sing some hymns. Here the local inhabitants would always be gathered. When they passed through some of the larger villages the people would give them refreshments to drink as well as something to eat. The same kind of respectful reception was even shown by the Russian Old Believers and Orthodox followers when the pilgrims passed through their hamlets.

When the group reached a church, they were awaited by the local pastor and the church members, all of whom would enter the church for a brief prayer. Ordinarily the pilgrims on longer journeys would spend the night in one of the churches or with local people or even out in the open. On the next morning after Mass they all continued on their way and usually the local church's pastor and parishioner would join the group along with their parish banners.

As they approached Aglona they were met by a special reception. In the tower of the Aglona church a watchman would be posted. As soon as he noticed a procession in the distance then the church bell began to ring as a greeting to those approaching. The pilgrims were met at the church door by the Aglona pastor holding the church's crucifix. The pilgrims' crucifix was joined with the church's cross as a sign of greeting as were the banners of both. The pastor would say a few words of welcome and then all would enter the church, singing the traditional hymn "Jaunova Svata Aglyunas Bazneica"( “The Blessed Virgin of the Aglona Church”). The pilgrims would spend the night praying and singing either in the church or in the garden. In rainy weather the pilgrims would stay overnight in one of the local hamlets.

After Latvian independence, when the classical high school was built, it gladly accepted all pilgrims who wanted to stay in its ample quarters. During the night the priests would hear the confessions of all who desired to do so because one of the requirements to receive the indulgences for the Aglona pilgrimage included confession, and Holy Communion, as well as praying for the intentions of the Holy Father. That is why in those years, as many as l00 priests would come to assist at the August 15 celebration while the number of pilgrims would approach l00,000.

Pilgrimages to Aglona continued through the years, even during the period of religious persecution in the Stalin years. Since the end of Communism, all of the restrictions have been removed and the gathering of pilgrims at Aglona on August 15, both individually and in organized groups, has grown to large numbers again.

Aside from following a tradition there were various reasons for these pilgrimages. In the first respect they were to show love for Mary, Queen of the Land of Mary, as well as to cleanse and refresh one's soul, to fulfill a sacred vow, to pray for a special request, or to seek God's help in some other way. The great assemblage of people at Aglona is not only a strengthening of one's faith but a testament to faith as a great unifying force for the people, a strengthening of the unity of differing regions. In Latvian history it was particularly true both in the tsarist period as well as in Soviet times, when it was an effective means of preserving one's faith and nationality.

The Aglona Spring

One additional feature of Aglona is a mineral spring. It was located near the present church in the northeastern corner of the monastery garden. This mineral spring gained a reputation for having curative powers. Its fame spread far and wide. People carried this water to far away places, even into Russia. In 1824 the Dominicans authorized the St. Petersburg Medicine Academy to test the spring’s waters. Their conclusion was that the water “was recommended for therapy for both internal use as well as for skin ailments." In 1826 the medical inspector of Vilna K. Friedeburgs, gave his official approval for the use of the spring for therapeutic purposes.

A small hospital with ten beds was built in 1825 to accommodate those who were seeking its cures. Over the years the spring is said to have merged with other springs and lost its curative powers but people still continued to seek its water. In the 1960’s the Communist regime ordered that it be covered over and stopped.

The Aglona Library

The Dominicans created a library at the cloister which grew into a very valuable collection of rare works. They diligently amassed an impressive library containing books in Polish, Latvian and Latin. Some of the books were acquired from Vilna seminary, others were private donations, and the remainder were purchased. It had unique books on Latgalian history, religion and language especially those published in the 18th and 19th centuries. It had some rare handwritten Latgalian prayer and song books as well as valuable manuscript collection and documents.

Aglona in Independent Latvia

After the founding of independent Latvia, Aglona quickly became the center of Latvian Catholicism. Aglona was chosen as the seat of the newly created diocese of Riga by Bishop Antonijs Springovics who was consecrated there on August 22, 1920. And the Latvian Catholic Theological seminary was located here. When the Riga diocese was elevated to archdiocese in 1924, Aglona became the archbishop’s cathedral. But that year both the diocesan see and the seminary moved to Riga although Aglona retained its role as a pre-eminent religious and educational center. The Catholic classical high school, one of the most prominent schools in Latvia of this period, was established in the 1920’s. Its first two directors Nikodems Rancans and Aloizijs Broks were responsible for its success. It provided much of lay and clerical Catholic intelligentsia of the twentieth century. In 1927 a girl’s high school was started nearby at Jaunaglona with Broks as director. A women’s monastery of the Sisters of the Poor Child Jesus was established there as well.

In Aglona the St. Vincent’s feast day, April 5, was celebrated very festively. Each Friday seven weeks before the feast, in front of this altar, the faithful hold a Votive Mass, recite litanies and honor the Holy Cross.

Aglona Under Communist Rule

The Soviet occupation of Latvia meant grave difficulties for religion in Latvia, including Aglona. Immediately after taking over in 1940 the Communist leadership launched an intensive attack on Aglona. They expropriated all church property, including the monastery which they closed. They also closed the boys and girls high schools. They organized atheistic attacks on the priests and believers. With the start of World War II, Germans occupied Latvia and continued tight control of religion and did not return church property. In 1942 they arrested and deported Aglona’s pastor, A. Broks who perished in a Nazi concentration camp. In 1944 as they began their retreat the Germans even planned to blow up the church, but did not carry this out and the church survived the intense Russian-German fighting in the area.

The Soviet return to Latvia in 1944 brought renewed Communist hostility to Aglona. In fact, throughout the entire Communist period, Aglona was focus of special attention by the Party leadership, which devoted much attention to reducing its influence. The first repressive measures were imposed in the postwar years but the greatest attack on Aglona occurred in the period from 1958 to 1970, with the Communists using all means at their disposal. For instance, the Communist authorities imposed an onerous tax on the parish and expelled the nuns of the Order of the Poor Child Jesus. They closed down public transit and used other measures to prevent pilgrims from reaching the shrine on major feast days and punished anyone who provided help. They forbade priests from other parishes to participate at special feasts. They unleashed squads of atheist activists to compete with the church. Probably the greatest Bolshevik crime against Aglona was the destruction of the monastery’s historic library in 1960. Then in the early 1960’s high Communist Party officials drew up secret plans to stop pilgrims and restrict the church even more but these attempts failed. Amazingly the shrine survived and the faithful persevered. Pilgrims again began to come in large numbers in the 1970’s although the obstacles were still considerable.

By 1980 the Soviets had relaxed their most repressive measures although they still banned foreign pilgrims from visiting the shrine. In 1980 the church was able to celebrate its 200th anniversary and was officially given the status of Basilica by Pope John Paul II. In 1986 it was the site of the celebration of the 800th anniversary of the introduction of Christianity in Latvia led by Cardinal Julijans Vaivods. A major renovation of the Basilica and church grounds was begun in 1992. It was completed just in time for a historic visit by Pope John Paul II in September 1993, the first papal visit to Latvia.

Tourist Information

• 25 km southeast of Preili
• 40km northeast of Daugavpils
• Good two-lane highways connect from both cities.

• From Riga by train to Daugavpils
• From Daugavpils by taxi or bus to Aglona
• Nearest train station is Aglona station which is several kilometers from the shrine.

• There is a restaurant near the basilica.
• Lodging: There is no hotel in Aglona.
• Camping is possible nearby but very primitive. No facilities.

Special arrangements for tours etc. can be made by calling the shrine directly
Pastor tel: city code 53- 75208. Tel/fax 53- 81109.

Regular Mass Schedule:
Sundays 10:00; 12:00; 19:00
Weekdays 7:00; 19:00

The Mass schedule on August 15 is announced in the archdiocesan publications in the weeks before. Pilgrims arrive on the vigil or even before. Services are held on the evening of the vigil and through the night. For the August 15 feast day special travel arrangements are made by local government authorities. Pilgrimages are announced in Katolu baznicas vestnesis, bi-weekly journal published by the archdiocese of Riga.