Apostolic Administration of Estonia
The Apostolic Administration of Estonia is a Latin, territorial Catholic circonscription that covers all of the Baltic state of Estonia.
It is an apostolic administration of the Latin Roman Catholic church in Estonia, hence is exempt and has its cathedral episcopal see, Peeter-Pauli katedraalis, in the national capital Tallinn.
The post of apostolic administrator has often been held by titular archbishops, combining it with papal diplomatic posts in the three Baltic republics.History
In 1918, when Estonia gained independence, its citizens had complete freedom of religion. The Holy See recognized Estonia on 10 October 1921. The Apostolic Administration of Estonia was established on November 1, 1924, on territory split off from the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Riga.
The see remained vacant during most of the period the country was demoted to the constituent Estonian SSR within the Communist USSR after the death of Bishop Eduard Profittlich in 1942 because of the suppression of the Church by Soviet authorities.
Since 1992, after Estonia's post-communist independence, apostolic administrators are once again appointed. It enjoyed a papal visit in September 1993 from Pope John Paul II.Apostolic Administrators of Estonia
- Antonino Zecchini, Jesuits, Titular Archbishop of Myra, Apostolic Delegate to Lithuania, Apostolic Internuncio to Latvia, Apostolic Delegate to Estonia
- Eduard Profittlich, S.J.
- vacancy in Soviet era
- Justo Mullor García, Titular Archbishop of Emerita Augusta, Titular Archbishop of Bolsena, Apostolic Nuncio to Estonia, to Latvia and to Lithuania
- Erwin Josef Ender, Titular Archbishop of Germania in Numidia, Apostolic Nuncio to Estonia, to Latvia and to Lithuania
- Peter Stephan Zurbriggen, Titular Archbishop of Glastonbury, Apostolic Nuncio to Estonia, to Latvia and to Lithuania
- Philippe Jean-Charles Jourdan, Titular Bishop of Pertusa
