Franciscan Church of Shkodër

Franciscan Church of Shkodër
Kisha Françeskane
General information
Town or city	Shkodër
Coordinates	42°04′N 19°30′E
Completed	1905; 119 years ago (1905)

The Franciscan Church of Shkodër is a Franciscan church in the city of Shkodër in northwestern Albania, built in 1905.[1]

History

The Assembly of Gjuhadol was founded in 1861 by the Franciscan Bishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Shkodër–Pult, Luigj Çiurçisë.[2] Construction on the current building was started by Father Tomë Markoci in 1875, and the grounds were dedicated in 1878 by Father Gjan Pjer Ferrari. In 1902 the franciscan mission in the city of Shkodër earned the permit from a Sultan decree to build a church in the city of Shkodër. Friars Françesk Melkiori and Lorenc Mitroviqi collected alms for construction. Both the church and assembly designs were by Friar Anselm (who died on March 25, 1891) but were enhanced by French engineer Agustin Briott upon resumption in 1902. The construction started outright and in 1905 the building was completed.[1][3] In January 1947 the Sigurimi (Albanian Secret Police) stored a cache of arms and ammunition in the church. When discovered by the Franciscan priests in outrage, a number of priests of the churches were arrested.[4] The tower of the church and rear wing underwent restoration in 2007.

References

1. Logoreci, Pjeter (25 June 2017). "Si u ndërtua Kisha Françeskane në Shkodër me dekret të sulltan Hamidit". Shqiptarja. Archived from the original on 9 November 2018. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
2. Bushati, Hamdi (1998). Shkodra dhe motet. Shkodër: Idromeno (OCLC 41096394). p. 606.
3. Kurti, Donat (2003). Provinça Françeskane Shqiptare. Shkodër: Botime Françeskane. pp. 31, 33–34. ISBN 99927-789-1-1.
4. Caroline Cox; Catherine Butcher (2006). Cox's book of modern saints and martyrs. Continuum International Publishing Group. p. 185. ISBN 0-8264-8788-2.