At the invitation of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Albania and the President of the Bishops’ Conference, Archbishop Gallagher, Secretary of State and International Relations of the Holy See, will visit Albania from March 18 to 20.
(Vatican News Network)At the invitation of Ms. Olta Xhaçka, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Albania and Archbishop Angelo Massafra, President of the Episcopal Conference, Archbishop Gallagher, Secretary General of the Vatican State Council for Relations with States and International Organizations Visit the country from 18 to 20. The Vatican’s State Council posted the news on its Twitter account (Terza Loggia). The Albanian people still remember the visit of Pope Francis on September 21, 2014, and the historic visit of Pope John Paul II on April 25, 1993.
Archbishop Gallagher met with Foreign Minister Ms. Zachka in Tirana on March 18 before heading to Shkodra, where Mass was held in the cathedral and a memorial to those persecuted during the communist regime Martyrs Museum.
On March 19, Archbishop Gallagher will celebrate Mass in the cathedral of Leschen, meeting with bishops of the Albanian Episcopal Conference. On March 20, in Tirana, he will meet with the country’s religious leaders, Ms. Lindita Nikolla, the Speaker of Parliament, and visit the Catholic University of Our Lady, the Catholic Cathedral, the Orthodox Cathedral and the mosque .
The Holy See established a delegation of the Holy See in Albania in 1920, but from 1945, with the communist regime in power, the Holy See’s representative, Archbishop Leone Nigris, was expelled, and his successor, Blessed Gini Following the tragic death of Archbishop (Frano Gjini), the Holy See’s representative in the country is vacant. Archbishop Gini was shot dead in 1948 for refusing to obey orders from Albanian leader Enver Hoxha to establish a state church separate from Rome. The Holy See and Albania established diplomatic relations on September 7, 1991, following the fall of the communist authoritarian regime.
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