The first vocations” “

Over 3.5 million inhabitants, for the most part Muslims (70%); 20% are Orthodox and the remaining 10% Catholics. That’s the religious situation of Albania as it proceeds towards slow economic and social development. Below we present an interview with Archbishop ANGELO MASSAFRA of Scutari, president of the Albanian Bishops’ Conference, who describes to SirEurope the slow but progressive rebirth of the local church, also in the light of the recent events that saw the election of Benedict XVI. How was the news of the election of Benedict XVI received in Albania? “The Albanians have always loved the Pope, even non-Catholics. And the whole people, just as it experienced with sorrow and compassion the suffering and death of John Paul II, in the same way greeted with joy, and with many celebrations, in various dioceses, the news of the election of another Pastor to lead the Church. The same goes for the Albanian bishops. In fact a two-day meeting of the Bishops’ Conference was held in April, during which we sent a message to the Pope on his election, pledging our fidelity and our commitment to continue in the footsteps of John Paul II. On 26 April we celebrated a liturgy of thanksgiving at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Good Counsel, with the presence of a huge throng of faithful, thanking the Lord for the new Pope. But I also wish to stress that the Albanian people had deep affection for John Paul II. He was the only Pope they knew in their recent history, marked by decades of Communist dictatorship. John Paul II himself visited Albania on 25 April 1993 and consecrated the first four Albanian bishops, demonstrating great love for our people”. Why, in your view, did John Paul II have this deep regard for Albania? “Because he too came from an historical experience similar to ours, marked by an atheist regime. In 1980, when he wrote part of his testament, he spoke in a very significant passage of indescribably difficult and turbulent times in which the Church found itself in a state of persecution. He says, indeed, that this period exceeded in its degree of hatred for the Church those that had preceded it. We here in Albania immediately thought that these words referred to our situation at the time. Shortly before the Pope had received a thick dossier on Albania, then still under Communist rule. Apart from China, our country was the one in which there was the deepest antagonism to religion and the Pope had grasped this and suffered for us and with us. It was during these years that the spiritual entrustment to Our Lady of Good Counsel was reinforced, both in the diocese of Scutari of which she is patron, and in Albania as a whole, an entrustment decreed by Pope Leo XIII”. What are the most significant events in the life of the Albanian Church in recent months? “Apart from the Marian month that is about to end, and that is very much felt by the faithful, there is the devotion to St. Anthony, it too extraordinarily widespread in the country. It needs to be borne in mind that it’s a fairly unique form of devotion; indeed, devotion to this saint is also present among non-Catholics and even among non-Christians. The phenomenon is matched, in a similar way, in Turkey, it too a country in which Catholics form a minority. I would also like to recall the recent meeting of Catholic schools with the national assembly at Tirana. The meeting brought together schools of every kind and grade, including the Catholic university opened by the Conceptionist Fathers in the capital two years ago, with its faculties of medicine, economic and political sciences. These events indicate a growth of the Catholic presence, at the service of the whole country and for the good of the whole people”. So is the Albanian Church increasingly getting better organised? “It’s still a young Church, which has a need for vocations to be able to offer the necessary assistance and apostolate, but the progress we have made is positive. The first rotations in the religious communities and among the priests fidei donum, who return to their country after a few years’ service in Albania, have already taken place. And I myself ordained three Franciscan deacons in recent days. Local vocations are beginning to emerge and give us hope in the growth of the Catholic presence. In the same way, pastoral projects are also growing in quantity and, we hope, in quality; as Albanian bishops, we have reflected on the National Day for the Eucharistic Year that is due to be held at Reshen. We have also discussed World Youth Day at Cologne, which will see the presence of some 200 Albanian youth. On 18 June we will hold the national celebration of Youth Day at Tirana. The last thing I want to say is that we are proceeding with the canonical process for the beatification of the Servants of God, victims of the anti-religious hatred of the Communist decades. They shall be the future protectors of our country”.