Pristina, Kosovo - A new cathedral honouring the deceased Catholic nun and Nobel Peace Prize recipient Mother Teresa was dedicated in Pristina, the capital of Kosovo, on Sunday. Posted on 09/05/2010 10:37:43 AM PDT by markomalley
Pristina, Kosovo - A new cathedral honouring the deceased Catholic nun and Nobel Peace Prize recipient Mother Teresa was dedicated in Pristina, the capital of Kosovo, on Sunday.
The cathedral was funded by donations from Albanians. Some 3,000 Catholics from the area and neighbouring countries were said to have attended the event, celebrated by Archbishop Zef Gashi, himself sent as a special representative by Pope Benedict XVI.
Final costs for the facility, which is not entirely completed yet, are expected to be in the neighbourhood of 1 million euros (1.28 million dollars). When completed, its towers will reach 70 metres into the sky.
The ceremony took place on what would have been the 100th birthday of the nun, who inspired many people around the world with her acts of charity.
The new building is designed to help Kosovo lay claim to Mother Teresa, who died in 1997 after spending most of her life helping the poor in Kolkata, India. But Macedonia and Albania also want to make clear their links to her.
Mother Teresa was born in Skopje, the capital of modern Macedonia. Her mother was an Albanian from modern Kosovo, while her father is believed to have been from southern Albania.
The nun herself once said: 'By blood and origin, I am Albanian. My citizenship is Indian. I am a Catholic nun. As to my calling, I belong to the whole world. As to my heart, I belong entirely to the heart of Jesus.'
I’m sure the area’s Albanian muslims are hysterical with rage.
It will be rubble within a year.
Maybe. Four years ago Muslims in Kosovo said a statue of Mother Theresa was a “provocation” to Muslims. Then again, a number of Muslims there have become Catholics because they discovered that there family roots were Catholic and they felt free in Kosovo to convert.
“I’m sure the area’s Albanian muslims are hysterical with rage.”
A reasonable guess, but not so. Religious tolerance between Muslims and Catholics is a very strong tradition in Albania.
It won’t last a year.
Kosovo is not Albania. Albania was ruled for years by Hoxha, who persecuted both Christians and Muslims equally, he declared Albania the first officially Atheist state. Kosovo was in Tito's Yugoslavia, which was much more tolerant of religion, but Tito's heavy hand was the only thing that kept the peace. As a result, today Albania is pretty much a secular state, as a result of the 40+ years of state atheism. Whereas once Tito passed, the old tensions between Christian and Muslim in Kosovo reared their ugly heads. And one of the main goals of the Islamo-Fascists in Kosovo is to bring all of the Albanian diaspora under their control.
Kosovar Catholics have guts though: http://02varvara.wordpress.com/2008/04/05/the-vatican-wishes-to-convert-kosovar-albanians-to-catholicism/
And there are some signs of good things to come: http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0900620.htm
Let’s hope it continues.
I hope so..we were on the wrong side when NATO bombed Serbia.
Plus also the Muslims also KNOW the good work Blessed Teressa of Calcutta did to those who were Muslim.
**Maybe. Four years ago Muslims in Kosovo said a statue of Mother Theresa was a “provocation” to Muslims. Then again, a number of Muslims there have become Catholics because they discovered that there family roots were Catholic and they felt free in Kosovo to convert.**
I wasn’t aware of this. Thank you for the hope.
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