Kosovo Catholics Prepare for Easter Celebration

Kosovo's small Catholic community in Kosovo is gearing up for services marking the Easter celebrations.

The main service will be held on Sunday evening in the Catholic Cathedral in the Kosovo capital, Pristina.

Don Lush Gjergji, a Catholic priest from Kosovo, told Balkan Insight that “Kosovo Catholics are showing an extraordinary interest in following the rituals” - and many others were joining in, too.

“It is not only Catholics who congratulate each other, but people who belong to other religious groups who are also congratulating us. This way the brotherhood of all Albanians is being strengthened,” he said.

Several activities and prayers are due to be held in the upcoming days in order to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ on the third day after his crucifixion at Calvary.

On Good Friday, the Catholic Church will commemorate the crucifixion and death of Jesus, while on Saturday there will be a ceremonial blessing of food.

A small but ancient minority in the country, about 60,000 of more than 2 million people in Kosovo are Catholic.

Most Kosovars are Muslims, but intolerance of Albanian Christians remains rare in the country.

The US State Department, in a report on International Religious Freedom, published last year, said Kosovo Catholics have little to fear.

“The constitution and other laws and policies protect religious freedom and, in practice, the government generally respected religious freedom,” it noted.

Fr Gjergji said the Kosovo people “have a tradition of respecting each other’s religions," adding, however, that "more needs to be done to maintain and cultivate this”.