The consecration ceremony took place on the day that marks the 12th anniversary of Pope John Paul II visit to Estonia. The Principal Consecrator was Archbishop Peter Stephan Zurbrigge, Apostolic Nuncio to Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia. The ceremony was attended also by Cardinal Janis Pujats, Archbishop of Riga.
Pope John Paul II (1920-2005), a couple of days before his death, decided to give Estonia the first Catholic bishop residing in Estonia since World War II. The previous bishop, Eduard Proffitlich (1889-1942), the first Catholic bishop in Estonia since the Reformation, being a prominent public figure and Estonian citizen shared the same fate with many Estonian people and died in prison in Kirov.
Public Relations Unit of the Office of the President
Kadriorg, September 10, 2005
