Albania Celebrates the Beatification of 38 Catholic Martyrs

The Los Angeles Times ^ | 11/5/16 | AP

[marshmallow]

Thousands gathered in prayer Saturday at a cathedral in Albania to celebrate the beatification of 38 Albanian Catholic martyrs executed or tortured to death during the former communist regime.

In April, Pope Francis officially recognized as martyrs Archbishop Vincens Prenushi and 37 other priests who died in prison or were murdered from 1945 to 1974 by the late communist dictator Enver Hoxha's regime, which banned religion in 1967 and persecuted its believers.

During Francis' visit in 2014, giant posters of the 38 clergy were placed along the Martyrs of the Nation Boulevard in Tirana, the capital.

On Saturday, up to 20,000 people attended a Mass at the Shen Shtjefni cathedral in the city of Shkoder, 75 miles north of Tirana, together with five cardinals and senior Albanian officials. The few thousand inside the cathedral were outnumbered by the many thousands surrounding it.

The Rev. Ernest Simoni, 88, named recently as a cardinal by Francis to honor his suffering in prison, held a box with the bones of 10 martyrs at the Mass.

“Today's beatification of the 38 martyrs is the reward from God to all those living in this world and assisting the poor. It is a reward for us, the people and the whole world,” Simoni said.

[Mrs. Don-o]

Blessed martyrs of Albania, pray for us, who don’t even deserve to breathe the same air, or walk on the same ground.