Shkodër Cathedral

St Stephen's Cathedral Katedralja e Shën Shtjefnit
St Stephen's Catholic Cathedral from the Square.
Basic information
Location	Shkodër, Albania
Geographic coordinates	42°3′55″N 19°31′12″E / 42.06528°N 19.52000°E / 42.06528; 19.52000Coordinates: 42°3′55″N 19°31′12″E / 42.06528°N 19.52000°E / 42.06528; 19.52000
Affiliation	Roman Catholic
District	Archdiocese of Shkodër-Pult
Country	Albania
Year consecrated	1867
Ecclesiastical or organizational status	Cathedral
Status	Active
Architectural description
Groundbreaking	1858
Completed	1867
Specifications
Length	74 metres (243 ft)
Width	50 metres (164 ft)
Height (max)	23.5 metres (77 ft)

Shkodër Cathedral (Albanian: Katedralja e Shkodrës), also known as St Stephen's Catholic Cathedral or Kisha e Madhe (the Great Church) is a cathedral in the city of Shkodër in northwestern Albania. The Roman Catholic cathedral is dedicated to Saint Stephen.

During the Siege of Scutari (1912–1913) the cathedral was damaged by the Montenegrin army, particularly the south east side, causing fire in the bell tower. The Cathedral was closed in 1967 and reopened in 1990.

The dedication of this church to Saint Stephen, the first patron saint of the city is dedicated to a preexisting church with that name, now buried in the Rozafa Castle, and on whose remains a mosque was built. Marin Barleti, a notable 16th-century Albanian writer mentions the former church and the saint patron of the city in his Historia de vita et gestis Scanderbegi Epirotarum principis (The story of life and deeds of Skanderbeg, the prince of Epirotes), when he describes the Siege of Shkodra which lasted from 1478 to 25 April 1479 and saw the League of Lezhe helplessly protect the castle from the Ottoman Empire army, until the castle eventually fell in Turkish hands.

During the first three centuries of the Ottoman occupation, the bishops of the city were constrained to live outside the city. In 1762, 5 years after the formation Pashalik of Scutari, the first Albanian Pashalik under the Bushati family, Monsignor Pal Pjeter Kamsi was eventually allowed again to reside in the city.