Roman Catholic Diocese of Skopje
The Diocese of Skopje (Latin: Dioecesis Scopiensis ) is a location in Macedonia Diocese of the Roman Catholic church located in Skopje.
It was established on 25 May 2000 by Pope John Paul II. It is the Bosnian Archdiocese Vhrbosna (Sarajevo) is a suffragan.
The territory of the Diocese of Skopje coincides with the territory of the Republic of Macedonia. According to Vatican Radio in Macedonia exist at present ( 2005), 20,000 Catholics, about half belongs to the Byzantine Rite.
Kiro Stojanov With a Slav Macedonians was appointed Bishop of Skopje in July 2005 for the first time. He holds the same time the Office of the Apostolic Exarch of Macedonia ( for the Catholics of the Byzantine rite ).
For the pastoral care of only a few priests available. In addition, there are three to four dozen Catholic nuns in Macedonia. Canonically erected parishes exist only in Skopje at the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart ( with branches in Tetovo, Veles, Stip, Prilep, Gostivar ) and Bitola ( with a branch in Ohrid).
Historical development
As early as the 4th century the bishopric Dardania was built and raised to an archbishopric, renamed 1656 in Archdiocese of Skopje, it was the seat of a metropolitan.
More on paper than in reality was the Catholic Archdiocese of Skopje, which included large parts of the western Balkans. The Holy See appointed only sometimes bishops for Skopje, in between there were always long Sedisvakanzen. On top of that many bishops not resided in Macedonia. Only at the turn of the 19th to the 20th century, the location of the mission parish could be reasonably stabilized. By papal decree of Pius XI. 29 October 1924, the Archdiocese of Skopje has been transformed into a simple diocese, the title went to Belgrade. On October 2, 1969 united Pope Paul VI. the Diocese of Skopje with the historical, and later titular Prisriana to the diocese of Skopje - Prizren. The Episcopal seat of the Serbian bishop was Skopje. The Albanian Bishop sat in Prizren (Kosovo), there lived more than ninety percent of the 50,000 Catholics of the diocese. The new separation took place in 2000 because of the result of the Yugoslav wars newly drawn political boundaries; Kosovo is now the Apostolic Administration of Prizren.
Blessed
The on October 19, 2003 was beatified by Pope John Paul II, Mother Teresa, " the angel of Calcutta ", was born on 26 August 1910 as Anjezë ( Agnes ) Bojaxhiu in Skopje Gonxha. She died on 5 September 1997 in Calcutta (India). Her memory is celebrated on 5 September.