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CATHEDRAL OF ST. STEPHEN Shkodër – Albania |
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A BRIEF HISTORY
The cathedral of Shkodra is dedicated to saint Stephen, the first martyr, the first patron of the church in Rozafa castle, of which the walls still exist. An important witness to this is the priest and humanist, dom Marin Barleci, notable in Albanian culture and history. Descibing the siege of Shkodra by the Turks in 1478, he records the patron saint of Shkodra. During the first year of the Turkish occupation, the bishops of Shkodra were constrained to live outside the city. The first bishop to actually reside in the city in 1762 was Mgr. Pal Pjeter Kamsi, who enjoyed the support of his large and powerful family and confronted the oppression of the Turks vigorously. The faithful of Shkodra asked to construct a Cathedral and this request was forwarded to the Sultan at Istanbul for permission, which was granted by decree in 1851. The work was begun after seven years on 7thApril 1858 in the presence of the Governor of Shkodra, Ali Pasha. It seems that the delay was necessary in order to collect money to begin the work, according to the design of an Austrian architect whose name has not come down to us. On beginning the work, after the reading of the Sultan's decree by the Governor, the ground was staked out and the first stone was blessed by Mgr. Giovanni Topič and the foundations excavated. The Parish Priest, don Engjell Radoja, with his assistant priests, was present, together with the accredited consuls, the bishops of the suffragan sees, the diocesan clergy, religious, seminarians as well as the ordinary people and some notables The cathedral of Shkodra was called Kisha e Madhe (the Great Church) because, at that time, it was one of the largest churches in the Balkans. Its construction went through various stages. The roof was first constructed with wooden rafters, which were later altered to metal supports. The ceiling was coffered according to the design of Kole Idromeno.
The bombardment of the Cathedral.
During the siege of Shkodra by the Montenegrin army (1912-1913) the city was the object of bombardment by artillery, including the cathedral, even though it was clearly a place of worship. A large number of citizens, among them many women and children, took refuge there since enemy fire was raining down on their homes, believing that the Montenegrins, being Christians, would respect a holy place. Unfortunately the bombardment damaged the Cathedral and, particularly the south east side, causing fire in the bell tower. This was not the only sacrilege.
During the communist dictatorship
After the arrest of dom Mikel Kolici (3rd February 1945) the duties of parish priest fell to dom Ernest Maria Çobe, who continued until his consecration as bishop on 20th April 1952. Whith the notorious 'cultural revolution' of 1967, all the churches in Albania were closed, some were destroyed, others transformed into cultural centres or stores. The cathedral was transformed into a palace of sport and was host to the Congress of Communist Women in 1973. The fall of the Berlin wall and the collapse of Soviet communism brought a breath of freedom to Albania and a return to democracy in 1990 -1991. Once again religion occupied its rightful place.
The reopening of the Cathedral
On 7th March 1991 the cathedral was opened by Father Aleks Baliqi ofm. The first Mass was celebrated by dom Zef Simoni with other priests in the presence of Mother Teresa of Calcutta and thousands of believers. Even when the cathedral was still arranged as a palace of sport, dom Gjergj Simoni was ordained priest by Mgr. Nikoll Troshani. The Holy See, with Mgr. Ivan Dias the first Apostolic Nuncio in Albania, decided to finance the restoration of this sacred building. On the completion of the restoration in 1993 the valuable wooden statue of saint Michael overcoming the devil, the work of Kol Idromeno, and a marble holy water stoup, the gift of the Pema family, were once again set in place (they had been confiscated by the communists). On 25th April 1993, the Holy Father John Paul II during his historic visit,the first visit of a Pope to Albania, celebrated Holy Mass and consecrated the first four Bishops of the resurrected Catholic Church in Albania: Mgr. Frano Illia, Archbishop Metropolitan of Shkodra and Apostolic Administrator of Lezhe, Sape and the Abbey Nullius of Orosh; Mgr. Rrok Mirdita, Archbishop of Durres-Tirana; Mgr. Robert Ashta, Bishop of Pult and Mgr. Zef Simoni, Auxiliary Bishop of Shkodra.
Other significant events and features: - 26th November 1994: the nomination of Mgr. Mikel Koliqi as Cardinal, his death on 28th January 1997 and burial in the Cathedral. - 22th October 1997: the death of Archbishop Frano Illia. - 28th November 1997: Mgr. Angelo Massafra, bishop of Rreshen and Apostolic Administrator of Lezhe was nominated Apostolic Administrator of Shkodra and Sape. - 28th March 1998: The Holy Father, Pope John Paul II named Mgr. Angelo Massafra ofm Archbishop Metropolitan of Shkodra. On April 25th 1998, in the presence of the Apostolic Nuncio, Mgr. Giovanni Bulaitis; the Auxiliary Bishop, Mgr. Zef Simoni, the parish priest of Shkodra (now Bishop of Sape) Lucjan Augustini, Archbishop Massafra made his entrance into the Cathedral and Diocese of Shkodra. - On the completion of the bell tower, built with the help of Mr. Kol Cacaj, it was blessed by Mgr. Massafra on 16th November 1999. - 29th June 2000 was another day full of significance for the Church in Albania when the first diocesan and Franciscan priests after the communist period were ordained. - In the Blessed sacrament chapel there is a copy of the shroud of Turin given by the Archbishop of Turin in the year 2000. Also noteworthy is the chapel of the Holy Oils and the Albanian martyrs. - On the 10th November 2002, in the presence of Cardinal Crescenzo Sepe, officailly was opened the Diocesan inquiry for the Canonisation of 40 Albanian “Martyrs”. - Since 2005 many significant improvements have been made to the Cathedral; renewal of the roof and external decoration, the reordering of the sanctuary, the construction of the choir in wood carved at Shkodra and the furnishing of the sacristy (2005), the renewal of the amplification system (2006) and repainting (2007).
List of Parish Priests (from 1930 to 2007)
1. Father Gasper Thaçi (1930 - 19/03/1936) 2. Father Mikel Koliqi (18/11/1937 - 1991) 3. Father Zef Simoni (1992 - 23/04/1993) 4. Mgr. Loro Nodaj (1993 - 1995) 5. Mgr. Lucjan Avgustini (14/07/1995 - 26/12/2006) 6. Father Gjovalin Suka (Parish Administrator - 22/01/2007)
Fotot: Angjelin Nënshati Arti grafik: Luigj Mila Shtypshkronja: “Gjergj Fishta” Lezhë
June, Shkodër 2007
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