The Liquidation of the Roman Catholic Clergy of the Latin Rite in the USSR (1917–1938)

Abstract

After the peace treaty with Poland (18 March 1921) and after the reorganization of the Church administration in 1921 and in 1923, ten administrative units of the Catholic Church were placed within the borders of the USSR; eight were of the Latin rite and two of the Eastern rite. In this article, the author presents the history of repressions organized by the Soviet authorities towards the Roman Catholic Church (1917–1938) with special attention given to the process of liquidation of the Roman Catholic Clergy of the Latin rite.