Muzeu Dioqezan Shkodër-Pult, beside St Stephen's Cathedral
A faith often opposed, a fire that broke out again from the ashes.
The Diocesan Museum was born to gather, keep and make known the bond between the Catholic faith and the culture of the Albanian people. Sixteen sections, about 30 minutes.
16seksione tematike
themed sections
“
To remember is not only not to forget, but to regain the awareness of the identity that shapes the present, so that we can lay the foundations for the future.
«Të kujtosh nuk do të thotë vetëm të mos harrosh, por edhe të kesh përsëri vetëdijen e identitetit që përcakton të tashmen, duke na lejuar të hedhim bazat për të ardhmen.»
From the museum's presentation
Itinerari
Sixteen sections, two floors
Places and signs in time on the ground floor. Voices, faces, testimonies in time above. The names are the ones on the walls.
I
Rrënjët e lashta
Ancient roots
II
Kishat e djeshme
Yesterday's churches
IV
Fragmente
Fragments
IX
Zoja jonë e Shkodrës
Our Lady of Shkodër
XIII
Kryqi i Dukagjinit
The Cross of Dukagjin
XIV
Martirët
Martyrs
Kohështrirje · The timeline
How faith survived in Shkodër
The museum tells its story along a timeline. Four moments from it.
1967
The bells went silent
Albania declared itself an atheist state. Churches were closed, and this cathedral became a sports hall.
23 years
Faith went into hiding
Families hid prayer books, rosaries and chalices at home. The section on concealment and devotion shows what they kept.
1993
A pope in Shkodër
John Paul II came to this cathedral and ordained Albania's first four bishops after the ban.
2016
Thirty-eight martyrs, beatified here
On 5 November 2016 the Church beatified 38 martyrs of the communist years. Their faces fill the wall of section XIV.
XIV · Martirët
Thirty-eight lives, one wall
Bishops, priests, friars, a seminarian, an aspirant sister and lay people, killed between 1945 and 1974 for keeping their faith. Among them the Italian Jesuit Giovanni Fausti and Maria Tuci, an aspirant of the Stigmatine Sisters, aged 22.
Imzot Frano GjiniBishop · 1886–1948Shot
Imzot Vinçens Prennushi O.F.M.Archbishop · 1885–1949Died in prison
Dom Lazër ShantojaDiocesan priest · 1892–1945Shot
Dom Ndre ZadejaDiocesan priest · 1891–1945Shot
Dom Alfons TrackiDiocesan priest · 1896–1946Shot
Dom Josef MarksenDiocesan priest · 1906–1946Killed
Dom Mark XhaniDiocesan priest · 1909–1947Died under torture
Dom Luigj PrendushiDiocesan priest · 1896–1947Shot
Dom Dedë MaçajDiocesan priest · 1920–1947Shot
Dom Anton MuzajDiocesan priest · 1921–1948Died under torture
Dom Anton ZogajDiocesan priest · 1908–1948Shot
Dom Dedë PlaniDiocesan priest · 1891–1948Died under torture
Dom Ejëll DedaDiocesan priest · 1917–1948Died in prison
Dom Pjetër ÇuniDiocesan priest · 1914–1948Died under torture
Dom Lekë SirdaniDiocesan priest · 1891–1948Died under torture
Atë Josif PapamihaliByzantine-rite priest · 1912–1948Died in forced labour
Dom Jak BushatiDiocesan priest · 1890–1949Died under torture
Mons. Jul BonatiDiocesan priest · 1874–1951Died in prison
Dom Ndoc SumaDiocesan priest · 1887–1958Died after prison
Dom Dedë MalajDiocesan priest · 1917–1959Shot
Dom Marin ShkurtiDiocesan priest · 1933–1969Shot
Dom Shtjefën KurtiDiocesan priest · 1898–1971Shot
Dom Mikel BeltojaDiocesan priest · 1935–1974Shot
Atë Gjon Shllaku O.F.M.Franciscan friar · 1907–1946Shot
Atë Bernardin Palaj O.F.M.Franciscan friar · 1894–1946Died under torture
Atë Serafin Koda O.F.M.Franciscan friar · 1893–1947Died under torture
Atë Mati Prendushi O.F.M.Franciscan friar · 1881–1948Shot
Atë Çiprijan Nikaj O.F.M.Franciscan friar · 1900–1948Shot
Atë Gaspër Suma O.F.M.Franciscan friar · 1897–1950Died in prison
Atë Karl Serreqi O.F.M.Franciscan friar · 1911–1954Died in prison
Atë Danjel Dajani S.I.Jesuit · 1906–1946Shot
Atë Giovanni Fausti S.I.Jesuit · 1899–1946Shot
Vëlla Gjon Pantalija S.I.Jesuit brother · 1887–1947Died under torture
Mark ÇuniSeminarian · 1919–1946Shot
Fran MirakajLayman · 1916–1946Shot
Gjelosh LulashiLayman · 1925–1946Shot
Qerim SadikuLayman · 1919–1946Shot
Maria TuciAspirant of the Stigmatine Sisters · 1928–1950Died under torture
- 2 Bishops
- 21 Diocesan priests
- 7 Franciscan friars
- 3 Jesuits
- 1 Seminarian
- 1 Aspirant of the Stigmatine Sisters
- 3 Laymen
From the cases
Look closer
Kryqi i Lezhës
The Lezhë cross · 18th–19th century · the first object of the collection, 1994
Shën Rroku
St Rocco · 16th–17th century · walled up in a house in Juban
Llambë vaji
Oil lamp · 19th century · from Shkodër's former Atheist Museum
Zoja e Dhimbshme
The Pietà · at the entrance
Plan your time
Your visit, in 30 minutes
One route, two floors. Wall texts in Albanian and English, and a free audio guide on your phone.
0 min
Entrance
Pay 200 lekë at the desk, open the audio guide link, and meet the Pietà.
about 2 min
Ground floor
Places and signs in time
about 15 min
First floor
Voices, faces, testimonies in time
or
Prefer a guide?
Book by phone or email, on days the museum is open. Cancel by phone at least 48 hours before.
Pinakotekë
The Lin Delija Gallery
Temperas by the Shkodër-born painter (1926–1994), on faith and on the persecution of Albania.
Muzeu mëmë
A museum under the open sky
At the end of the visit, places across the diocese that tell the rest of the story.
Find us
Inside the cathedral complex
Sheshi Gjon Pali II, Shkodër 4000. On the cathedral's south side, partly beneath the bell tower.
Questions or bookings: +355 67 555 2076 · [email protected]
Closed · opens tomorrow at 09:00
Sixteen sections. Two thousand years. About thirty minutes.
