Twelve years after the first Dehonian missionaries arrived in Albania, a new church, the church of the “Madonna of Good Counsel”, was consecrated in the presence of Archbishop Rrrok Mirdita of Durazzo-Tirana at Gurez in the province of Laç, in central Albania, on 5 April. This is the third time that a church has been built in this village; the first was destroyed by the inundation of the river Mat, the second demolished under the communist dictatorship. The church was erected thanks to the work of the Dehonian missionary Father Michele Bulmetti, one of the first to enter Albania after the advent of democracy. “Today the scenario has changed says Father Elia Ercolino . Many have emigrated, the hopes for political and social change have been dashed, the will to reconstruct Albania has given way to disillusionment: people no longer have any hope of finding work or social justice. Albania has a need for the help of Europe which must he said promote the realization of labour projects to ensure a future of greater prosperity for all Albanians”.
