Cardinal Ernest Simoni, 97, considered a “living martyr” of the bloody Communist persecution in Albania, met in a private audience with Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican this week, reminiscing about the testimony of faith of the persecuted Church.
According to Vatican media reports, the cardinal presented the Pope with a cross and relics of the Albanian martyrs, “who gave their lives for loyalty and love for Jesus and for the salvation of the people of Albania, so that all may contemplate the smile of Heaven,” the Cardinal told the Pope.
The April 26 meeting, which was also attended by about 40 of the cardinal’s relatives, “took place in an atmosphere of joy and hope, seeing the face of the Holy Father, represented by the face of Jesus, who proclaims from heaven to all mankind the Good News of peace, brotherhood and love for all people of the world,” Simoni told Vatican media after the meeting.
Simony under communist dictator Enver Hoxha
Ordained a priest in 1956, 12 years after communist dictator Enver Hoxha came to power, Simoni endured brutal repression of the Catholic Church in the world’s first officially atheist state, where all religious practice was prohibited.
The priest was arrested on Christmas Day 1963 and sentenced to death, but the sentence was commuted to forced labour. He spent 18 years in prison and was released in 1981. Although he was still considered an “enemy of the people”, he was later forced to work cleaning sewers in the city of Shkodër. He secretly ran a priestly ministry until the fall of the regime in 1990.
Despite a complete ban on worship, he celebrated mass daily during his imprisonment, resorting to simple tricks to remain undetected. Since he said mass in Latin, his jailers thought he had gone mad and was only muttering incomprehensible words.
Pope Francis’ visit to Albania in 2014
In 2014, when Pope Francis visited Albania, this elderly priest’s testimony moved him to tears. In 2016, the Pope created him a cardinal, publicly thanking him for a life of dedication that is “good for the Church.”
On April 7 this year, the Cardinal celebrated the 70th anniversary of his priestly ordination. Two days earlier, on Easter Sunday, he accompanied Leo XIV during the “Urbi et Orbi” (“To the City and the World”) message and blessing from the central loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica.
Simonyi described the audience with the pontiff as “a special grace bestowed by the Holy Spirit and the Holy Father: to preach, to all the people of the world, the sweetest peace, the sweetest peace, the peace that comes from heaven, spiritual joy and the joy of the Resurrection.”
this story was first published By ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language affiliate of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
