About
HISTORY
The desire to pay respect to Skopje’s most famous person and the only Nobel Peace Prize winner from Macedonia culminated in the realization of a long-standing vision – building a Memorial House for Mother Teresa. Accordingly, the foundation stone of the Memorial House was laid on May 9, 2008. The building, dedicated to the most humane woman in the world, was completed in just nine months. For visitors, the Memorial House was open on January 30, 2009.
The location of the museum is not randomly chosen. That is to say, on this exact place the old Catholic Church “Sacred Heart of Jesus” used to stand. It is where Mother Teresa, then Gonxha Bojaxhiu was baptized just one day after her birth.
Since the opening of the Memorial House in 2009 until today, the number of visitors ranges from 80000 to 100000 per year, including a number of presidents, ministers, ambassadors, church dignitaries, the niece of Mother Teresa – Age, Cardinal Pietro Parolin (Vatican secretary of state) and others.
EXHIBIT AREA
Gallery
The exhibit area in the Memorial House of Mother Teresa was conceived so as to look like an urban house from the early 20th century.
The exhibit itself begins with photographs of old Skopje from the early 20th century, when Macedonia was still part of the Ottoman Empire. The aim is to recapture the spirit of this part of the Balkans as a crossroads between the oriental East and the Christian West. This mixture of cultures was woven into every thread of daily life and is best illustrated through the display of furniture and clothes, and the handiwork of silversmiths and goldsmiths.
The aim of the exhibit is to follow the life of Mother Teresa from her childhood spent in her native Skopje through the years spent as a Missionary of Charity, all the way until her death and beatification.
The most important items in this museum are the signature white sari with blue stripes (second class relic), the official habit of the Missionaries of Charity, copy of the Baptism certificate from the Catholic Church Sacred Heart of Jesus, authorized copies of documents with her handwriting and her awards.
Among the documents on display is the prayer book written by Mother Teresa, a copy of the Nobel Peace Prize received in 1979 and a copy of the letter sent to the Mayor of Skopje, Metodi Antov, on the occasion of her receiving the prize.
The exhibit boasts numerous photographs which vividly capture the humanitarian work of the sisters of Mother Teresa’s order.
Amphitheater
The basement part of the museum is designed as a multimedia center that hosts various projections, promotions, exhibitions, educational projects related to the life and humanitarian work of Mother Teresa.
Chapel
Above the gallery there is a small chapel where the priests from the Catholic Church hold services. At the honorary masses associated with important dates related to Mother Teresa her relic is presented.
MANAGER
Renata Kutera Zdravkovska
Date of birth
23.4.1958
Education
1977 – 1982 Faculty of Philosophy of Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland
2001 Study visit to the National Museum in Warsaw and National Museum in Krakow as a scholar of the Foundation for Support of Science in Warsaw, Poland
2004 – 2005 Master’s program in cultural management at Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland
(a scholar of USAID)
Work experience
1992 – 2009 Employed at the Museum of Macedonia. Founder of the museum marketing and manager of the department of museum marketing.
2009 to date Director of NI Memorial House of Mother Teresa
Participation in several international exhibitions
1997 Exhibition “Terracotta icons from Vinnitsa” in National Museum in Warsaw
2000 Exhibition “The art of icon” in the National Museum in Krakow, within the festival Krakow European Capital of Culture 2000
2002 Exhibition “Of a traditions of the past” in the State Ethnographic Museum in Warsaw, Poland
2002 Exhibition “The national Art of Mazovia” in the Museum of Macedonia
2010 Exhibition “Mother Teresa – Mother of the poor” (Photos Zvonimir Athletic – Zagreb, Croatia) in the NI Memorial House of Mother Teresa
2012 Exhibition “Mother Teresa – An icon of charity” in Rome, Italy
2014 Exhibition “Mother Teresa – An icon of charity” in the Macedonian Cultural Center in Sofia, Bulgaria
Publishing
Editor-in chief of these publications:
2010 Leo Maasburg “Miraculous stories” (Macedonian and Albanian version)
2011 Photo monograph about NI Memorial house of Mother Teresa
2016 Book for children “Mother Teresa – Story for kindness”
Contact
renata@memorialhouseofmotherteresa.com
+389 (0)2 3290 848
+389 (0)76 490 936
CUSTODIANS
Andirana Jelikj
Date of birth
07.06.1981
Education
1999 – 2005 Faculty of Philosophy – History of art and archaeology
Language
English, Italian, Serbian
Contact
andriana@memorialhouseofmotherteresa.com
+389 (0)2 3290 674
Dragan Kostic
Date of birth
15.02.1963
Education
1982 – 1986 Faculty of Philology „Blazhe Koneski“
Language
Serbian, English, French, Italian
Contact
dragan@memorialhouseofmotherteresa.com
+389 (0)2 3290 674
Snezhana Aleksovska
Date of birth
17.12.1990
Education
2009 – 2013 Faculty of Philosophy – Archaeology
Language
English
Contact
snezhana@memorialhouseofmotherteresa.com
+389 (0)2 3290 674
Cvetanka Vuchkovska
Date of birth
27.09.1983
Education
2003 – 2008 Faculty of Philosophy – Archaeology
Language
English, German
Contact
cvetanka@memorialhouseofmotherteresa.com
+389 (0)2 3290 674