Cardinal Ernest Simoni, who was arrested, persecuted and threatened with death during almost 28 years of Albanian communist rule, attended a general audience today in the Paul VI Chamber. Francisco congratulated him “in a special way” and thanked him for continuing to witness and serve the Church even today, at the age of 95.
Vatican news
Pope Francis, after delivering his homily, addressed Albanian Cardinal Ernest Simoni in an “excellent manner” during his homily and praised him in front of thousands of faithful.
“All of us,” Francis said spontaneously, “have read and heard the stories of the first martyrs of the Church, there are so many. Even here, where the Vatican is now, there is a cemetery, where many were hanged. And buried. When one digs, these graves are found. “.
Today, the Pope continued, “I greet the living martyr in a special way”, Cardinal Simoni. “He, as a priest, lived 28 years in a communist prison in Albania, possibly under terrible persecution.” The Pope stressed that the Albanian cardinal “continually bears witness. There are many like him.”
“Now 95 years old, he continues to work tirelessly for the church. Dear brother, I thank you for your witness. Thank you very much.”
Arrest, threats and harassment
Father Ernest was arrested at the end of Barbullish Mass on Christmas Eve 1963. They accused President Kennedy, who had died a month earlier, of being an “enemy of the people” because of his celebrated suffrage act. In solitary confinement, where he remained for eighteen years, they brought in a friend with the task of spying on him, and other comrades were ordered to register their “predictable anger” against the regime. However, Father Ernest said nothing, only words of forgiveness and prayer came out of his mouth. “Jesus taught us to love our enemies, forgive them, and work for the good of people. Initially sentenced to death, his sentence was commuted to forced labor, spent 25 years working in the dark tunnels of the Spak mines, and then in the sewers of Shkodra.
True Christian Testimony
During his time in prison, Cardinal Simoni said he celebrated Mass in Latin, heard the confessions of other prisoners, became a spiritual father to some of them, and distributed communion with a host secretly cooked with wine in a small oven. Grape juice. Everything will always be confidential. When he was free, on September 5, 1990, he announced that he forgave his torturers and received the father's mercy on them. Then he started serving in the villages, especially helping the people to establish harmony and remove hatred from their hearts. A service that was never interrupted because of his age or because of his appointment as a cardinal. Ernest Simoni, with his life testimony, remembers all martyrs and Catholics persecuted in his country. Among them, the first Albanian cardinal in history was created by John Paul II in 1994: Michael Koliki (1902-1997), his fellow countryman from Shkodra and, like Simoni, long detained in the prisons of the communist regime. There he served at least 31 years in prison.
“Hardcore explorer. Extreme communicator. Professional writer. General music practitioner. Prone to fits of apathy.”