A Spiritual Centre for All Kosovans

The Co-Cathedral of Mother Teresa in Pristina is there for all

By Reinhard Backes

Young people throng the streets – hundreds of young people. On the journey from Prizren to Pristina you see them in almost every town.

Kosovo – since February 2008 an independent republic – is young, very young. Over half of the population of this land – once a part of Yugoslavia, then of Serbia until it was first trampled underfoot by this country, then stridently and vehemently proclaimed itself independent from it – is under 25.

Hence this young nation has an enormous potential, yet at the same time faces enormous challenges. For even now, 10 years after the war ended, the infrastructure is woefully inadequate and almost every other person is out of work.

The political administration and the educational system are still in the process of being established. And to cap it all, the conflict between the Albanian majority and the Serbian minority is still unresolved.

“But despite this, we are optimistic,” declares Bishop Dode Gjergji of Prizren and all Kosovo. 

A symbol of hope for all religions 

He points to a vast building site in the centre of Pristina, adding: “Here is where we are building the Co-Cathedral of Mother Teresa. For many people it is a symbol of a new beginning and of new hope – both for Christians and Muslims.“

The bishop immediately understands the look of surprise in the eyes of his guests. There is no contradiction, he assures them, in the fact that Kosovo is 95 percent Muslim and yet a Catholic church is being built in the heart of the capital.

He explains. Ibrahim Rugova, the philosopher, writer and, according to numerous unofficial elections, first president of Kosovo, had personally encouraged the Catholics to build a church to represent them in the capital.

Rugova, a Muslim who is revered by Kosovans as the father of the nation, had used his personal influence to ensure that the Christians were offered a building site in a central position. For him this was clearly more than a gesture, inviting everyone to contribute together to rebuilding the country.

“For him a cathedral was quite simply something that belonged here in the capital,” says Bishop Gjergji.

By now the first phase of building is already complete, and the foundations and undercroft stand ready. Here, beneath the church, in an area of some 6,200 square metres, a social centre and meeting place is being constructed.

Walking across the building site, the bishop proudly points out this area, the extent of which one can already begin to appreciate.

“In future there will be room here for everyone, whether Christians or Muslims, whether Catholics or Orthodox,” he tells us.

Supporting Kosovo’s neediest 

Already, he adds, the Catholic Church is committed to helping the needy, with daily food kitchens for the poor in what is – until now – the only Catholic parish in Pristina.

Then there is the work of Caritas, and that of the vocational school, the Don Bosco Social and Educational Centre run by the Salesians, which provides young Kosovans with a general and practical education.

The social centre and meeting hall is taking shape nicely. It lies not far from the University of Pristina.

Over the top of it a large church of impressive proportions is being constructed. Two slender towers will give the building an unmistakable and distinctive appearance.

Begun by Bishop Marco Sopi, Bishop Gjergji's predecessor, the building is expected to be “in the bag” by 2010, as the bishop insists.

And he adds with determination: “I have been building for 18 years now. And what we managed in Albania we will manage here too.”

While he was bishop of the Albanian diocese of Sapa, Dode Gjergji built up not only the diocese itself but also the cathedral in Vau Dejes. At the same time he also built the first ever contemplative Carmelite convent in Albania.

The challenge and dream of completing the cathedral 

Nonetheless, in Pristina this dynamic priest and bishop is facing a still greater challenge, for the church, which will bear the name of Mother Teresa, has to be complete – at least in its essential structure – in time for the hundredth anniversary of the birth of this holy woman, beatified nun and Nobel peace prize holder who was born in 1910 in Skopje and died in 1997 in Calcutta.

For the Catholics in Kosovo this project is a real challenge. For this small country, which is not even quite the size of Yorkshire , has just 65,000 Catholics, added to which are several thousand Catholic Albanian Kosovans living abroad (around 10,000 in Germany for example).

Bishop Gjergji is counting on their donations, which are expected to amount to over €1.3 million – around a quarter of the total cost.

On top of this, generous support has already been given by Aid to the Church in Need from its international project headquarters in the small town of Königstein near Frankfurt, Germany.

The charity has already helped with the construction of the Carmelite convent and the cathedral in Albania and also made an earlier contribution to this Co-Cathedral of Mother Teresa.

But more help will undoubtedly be needed. And so a great deal of work still rests on Bishop Gjergji's shoulders – both as a master builder and as a pastor.

“The people here have endured hard times,” he tells us. “Now they are searching for God.”

This is true of Muslims and of Christians too. The religious communities are growing. As Bishop Gjergji says: “Many people are coming to us, above all young Kosovans, both Muslims and Christians. We want to be able to help them and respond to them. This is our own practical contribution towards reconciliation.”

Make a donation to help build Kosovo's Co-Cathedral of Mother Teresa in Pristina