The Cathedral of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour also known as Precinct of the Lady Helper Church and Con-cathedral of the Lady Helper is a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

cathedral in

Prizren Prizren ( sq-definite, Prizreni, ; sr-cyr, Призрен) is the second List of cities and towns in Kosovo, most populous city and Municipalities of Kosovo, municipality of Kosovo and seat of the eponymous municipality and District of Prizren, ...

Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...

. It is the seat of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Prizren-Pristina The Diocese of Prizren and Pristina (, , ) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Kosovo. It is centered in the city of Prizren. It was erected as an apostolic administration in 2000, after being split fro ...

History

The Cathedral was commissioned by Italian Dario Bucciarelli, Archbishop of Skopje, in 1870 who had worked as a missionary in

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

for 9 years and had been secretary to the Archbishop of Shkodër. During that time, it was financed by citizens of

Dubrovnik Dubrovnik, historically known as Ragusa, is a city in southern Dalmatia, Croatia, by the Adriatic Sea. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean, a Port, seaport and the centre of the Dubrovni ...

. However, the site was likely a graveyard church dating back to the 5th century, uncovered during excavations carried out between 2019 and 2021. These excavations also revealed the presence of the walls of a 12th-century church in the foundations of the current building. The cathedral was not dedicated until October 31, 1970, one hundred years after its construction.

Architecture

The cathedral is built on a basilic plan with three naves, in a neoclassical style. The primary construction material is brick, with decorative stone bands on the facade. Vertical columns, stairs and the balcony are made of wood. The primary interior material is marble, since a restoration in 1970.

Notes

References

Official web page of the diocese
(English)

(Albanian) * Kosovo By Gail Warrander, Verena Knaus https://books.google.com/books?id=GCRjKdrmqqEC * List of Churches: http://www.metaltraveller.com/en/trips/kosovo/prizren_churches.html
Openstreetmap location

Report on Churches in Kosovo

Archeological Report of Prizren

an

Roman Catholic cathedrals in Kosovo Cultural heritage of Kosovo Churches in Prizren Cultural heritage monuments in Prizren District Tourist attractions in Prizren {{Kosovo-struct-stub