The Last Jesuits in Courland and Their Fate after 1773
The Last Jesuits in Courland and Their Fate after 1773

Summary/Abstract: The first Jesuits permanently settled in Courland in the second half of the 17th century. It was the ‘third wave’ of the establishment of the Society of Jesus in the Latvian lands. At first, the short-lived college of Rīga and residence of Cēsis (1582–1625) served as a basis for the Jesuit activities in Vidzeme. Later on, the foundation of the residence in Daugavpils in 1630 (elevated to the rank of college in 1761) with numerous missionary stations attached to it was a starting point of long and continuous presence (until 1820) of the Society in Latgale. The first Jesuit community to be founded in Courland was the mission in Skaistkalne (in 1660). Subsequently, Jesuits settled in Jelgava (residence since 1690, united with the mission in Skaistkalne), and a residence in Ilūkste was opened in 1690. After the division of the Lithuanian Jesuit Province in mid-18th century, in 1761 residence of Ilūkste was elevated to the rank of a college, and both Jesuit communities in Jelgava and Skaistkalne started functioning as two independent residences.

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