Albanian Convent

A friend of mine works in Shkodra, or Scutari, he has told me about this convent, see article below, where they preserve the relics of martyrdom with honour; the electric flex, telephone generator, the lengths of barbed wire.

One of the problems that the church in Albania has is a lack of money, even for the beatification of its martyrs. If you are able to contribute to the considerable cost of the cause for the beatification of the Albanian Martyrs, send what you can afford to the Archbishop:

Beneficiary name: ARQIPESHKVIA SHKODER
Cause: For the Albanian Martyrs
Account Nr.: 600468090102
Address: PROCREDIT BANK / SHKODRA BRANCH
ALBANIA, SWIFT FEFAALTRXXX

read these earlier posts here, here and here, the first two are not for the squeemish.

(CNA).-

In the
Albanian town of Scutari, eight Poor Clare sisters have opened the doors of their convent, which was once used as a prison during the Communist regime where
many died defending their faith.

In statements to Vatican Radio, Sister Sonia, one of the religious living at the convent, noted that the convent was the “first Poor Clare monastery here in Albania to open after many centuries. Today we are using an old convent that belonged to the Franciscan friars. In 1946 it was confiscated and transformed into the headquarters of the Securimi, that is, the regime’s secret police.”

She recalled that one of the sections of the convent “was converted into a cell for detaining and torturing prisoners. The oldest part still contains even today a series of cells where prisoners died and where you can still see the signs of the torture.”

“Walking through the hallways of the convent you can still truly breathe an air of grace: these halls have truly been washed in the blood of the martyrs,” she added.

Sister Sonia explained later that “these men were stripped of their dignity as human beings. We can see signs of this on the walls.” “We remember moreover that during the persecution of the Enver Hoxha regime in 1945, a true ecumenism of suffering was experienced in this place,” she said.

“We are here to safeguard and to tell this story, so that it is not forgotten. It is very important because we know that if a nation does not recognize its own history, it risks repeating the same errors, and not only this, but this nation wants to rebuild a better and different history,” Sister Sonia added.

She said she hoped young people would be inspired by the
history of the convent and that it would be a place to bring people together.
“We are happy to be here since it is the Lord who has allowed this,” she said.

A prayer for the beatification
of the Albanian Martyrs

O Lord, Father of goodness and mercy,
through the glorious example of Christ, Your Son,
Who was crucified, died and rose again,
You raised up from among us in Albania,
bishops, priests, religious and lay people,
to bear faithful witness to the Gospel and the Church,
in torture and martyrdom.
We pray that, giving us the grace
which we ask through their intercession,
you may cause them to be blessed on earth.
(here mention the grace for which you desire to pray)
May their heroic example inspire us to strive
to grow in faith, that Jesus Christ may be
the only centre of our lives. Amen.

Glory be to the Father……