Katoļu ģimeņu dzīve un tradīciju saglabāšana padomju Latvijā
The Life of Catholic Families and Preservation of Traditions in Soviet Latvia

Summary/Abstract: The narrative history of the Catholic families in Latvia is a promissing research project disclosing the various facets of non-violent resistance to the soviet totalitarian regime in Latvia. It is also an important illustration of the various forms of the preservation of faith and the traditional lif-style under different political and economic conditions for the faithful members of the Roman Catholic Church. It is both a story of deeply personal nature, and also a means for better understanding of the present-day realities – the wars, the persecution of Christians, the problem of the displaced persons; it helps to foster empathy towards the persecuted ones, to teach solidarity. During the soviet occupation, the family was the central place for the preservation of the tradition and for providing of spiritual succor to the members of the Catholic community, territorially and ideologically divided as it was. The central mission of the families was to preserve the Latvian national identity. The Latvian Catholic parishes and organizations in exile offered various means for the service and social activities, so as to keep together the generations and to pass on the cultural experience. In Siberia the Church was prevented from offering services to the Catholics incarcerated in the soviet prison camps.

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