Rrëshen (Fides Service) - On the occasion of Cardinal Sepe's visit to Albania, Fides Service spoke with Mgr Cristoforo Palmieri apostolic administrator of Rrëshen (a suffragan diocese of Shkodre).
"It is a great joy for us to welcome the Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples. We are such a small diocese and very poor, we never expected a visit like this! The visit was prepared jointly by the local Catholic community and the civil authorities. Our town has been specially prepared, with flowers and decorations." One major event will be the consecration of the new Cathedral dedicated to Jesus, Only Saviour of the World. Mgr Palmieri told Fides Service that "this is an event of deep spiritual and symbolic value for the entire community. It has been prepared with prayers and information with regard to the event has even been issued on television. Every parish in the diocese has come as a group to pray in the cathedral. People are responding with great joy: they feel honoured and comforted by this new cathedral. You see Communism offended and humiliated the Albanians as it tried to uproot the faith and all its signs. A law dated 18 March 1967 decreed the elimination of all church structures. Church buildings were turned into sports halls or football fields. People remember that date as the "Day of Shame". The new cathedral symbolises a rebirth which removes that pain and reconnects with the thread of faith the new Catholic community with the one that existed before 1967."
Mgr Palmieri continued: "Although communication is difficult, parishes willingly make the 3 of 4 hour journey to come to Rrëshen. The new Cathedral stands as point of reference for those who kept the faith during Communism as well as those, young people especially, who are drawing near to the love of Christ for the first time. May it be for all a place in which to meet God, a place of communion, a place in which to rediscover the values of peace, harmony, and solidarity also with local Muslims, the majority in Albania". (PA) (Fides Service 9/11/2002)