Catholic Church in Kosovo


The Catholic Church has a population in Kosovo of approximately 90,000 in a region of roughly 2 million people. Another 60,000 Kosovar Catholics are outside the region, mainly for work. They are mainly ethnic Albanians, with a few Croats.
One of the oldest Catholic churches in Kosovo is the Catholic church of Vinarc, in Mitrovica.
The Diocese of Prizren-Priština is the ecclesiastical district of the Catholic Church in Kosovo. It is centered in the city of Prizren. Bishop Dodë Gjergji serves as diocesan bishop as of 2019.
, the Holy See does not recognise Kosovo as a sovereign state.
  1. Archbishop Juliusz Janusz, 66, originally a priest of the Archdiocese of Kraków, Poland, is the Apostolic Nuncio to Slovenia and the Apostolic Delegate to Kosovo; he had served previously as Apostolic Nuncio to Hungary and before that as Apostolic Nuncio to Mozambique and Rwanda. He was delegate from 10 February 2011 to 21 September 2018.
  2. Titular archbishop of Sulci Jean-Marie Speich is Apostolic Nuncio to Slovenia and Apostolic Delegate to Kosovo from 19 March 2019.

    History

Kosovo conflict (1998-1999)

During the Kosovo war, vandalisation of Kosovo Albanian Catholic churches occurred. The Catholic Church of St Anthony located in Gjakovë had major damage done by Yugoslav Serb soldiers. In Prishtinë, Yugoslav Serb officers ejected nuns and a priest from the Catholic church of St. Anthony and installed aircraft radar in the steeple which resulted in NATO bombing of the church and surrounding houses.

Modern period

On 26 November 2019, an earthquake struck Albania. The Catholic Church in Kosovo held mass on 1 December across the country and it collected charitable donations by parishioners for earthquake victims and their families.

Churches