By Frank Shkreli
– Beatification ceremony in Shkodër, of Át Luigj Palaj and Dom Gjon Gazulli –
Memorie.al / The commemoration in the Shkodra Cathedral of two Albanian martyrs, Dom Gjon Gazulli from Albania and Father Luigj Palaj from Kosovo: a historic day for the Albanian Catholic Church, a great day for Albania and the Albanian Nation – two good martyrs, lined up and rise to the altar of prosperity — not only at the level of the Albanian Catholic Church — but of the entire universal Church. So these are the two martyrs – who are added to the 38 martyrs of the Albanian Catholic Church, from the time of bloody communism, celebrated in 2016: Dom Gjon Gazulli, addicted to the regime of Ahmet Zogut and Luigj Palaj, killed by the Serbian army Montenegrin.
On November 16, 2024, the mass and ceremony for the beatification of two priests, one Franciscan and the other of the diocese, took place in the cathedral of Saint Stephen in Shkodër. The beatification ceremony was presided over by the special envoy of Pope Francis, Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, who came especially for this purpose.
He greeted those present, talking about the two blessed ones: Father Luigj Palaj, priest of the Order of Friars Minor, born in Janjevë, Kosovo, a land that Saint John Paul II once remembered as; “rich, with glorious history…” (Audience of November 15, 1989); the other, Gjon Gazulli, the diocesan priest of this holy Church of Shkodra.
For both of them, the words of Jesus were fulfilled: “…because of me, they will say all the black things against you, but falsely…”, said, among other things, the representative of the Vatican at the beatification ceremony in Shkodër of the two young martyrs of the Albanian Catholic Church.
“Our two Blesseds, they did good things, but they slandered them and, with fraud, they were condemned”, said the representative of Pope Francis in his sermon and continued: “This is what happened to Át Palajn – whose story is part of the War the first Balkan one – when in the parish of Peja, where he served, the invaders from Montenegro, Serbia’s ally, exercised an oppressive policy against the ethnic Albanian population, deliberately committing violence and murder…!
Even the murder of Lumi Gazulli was motivated by lies and in the beginning of his death, it was a farce trial: he was convicted on false charges and hanged in the suburbs of Shkodra, in the area called; “Field of wood”, said, among other things, the representative of the Vatican, during the beatification ceremony of the two martyrs in Shkodër.
“How important has become, especially in our era, this theme of lies, falsity, deception! Of course, we can say that these sad human behaviors have always existed; but, today, in what is called the era after the truth (post-truth), the matter has become more complicated”, said Cardinal Marcelo Semeraro.
“It is enough to think how much disinformation and how many lies, which destroy the lives of relatives and peoples, are passed on the Internet, so much so that it becomes extremely problematic to separate the truth from the lies. But today, do we still care about the “truth”? – asked the representative of Pope Francis in his sermon in Shkodra’s cathedral.
One day after the beatification of the two martyrs of the religion and the Motherland, on Saturday in Shkodër – from the Vatican, Pope Francis also welcomed this act, during the Angel of God Prayer in the Vatican, for the Beatification of the Martyrs; Dom Gjon Gazulli and Father Luigj Paliq, while in the large crowd in “St. Peter’s” Square, the flag of the Albanian Nation waved high and proudly.
In this religious ceremony, the bishops of Albania also participated (including the Albanian Cardinal, Ernest Troshani), the bishops from Kosovo, Montenegro, Croatia and Italy, as well as the Albanian civil and religious authorities, in addition to thousands of believers inside and outside the Cathedral, or “Big Church”, as it is known in Shkodër.
The media announce that; after the blessing ceremony, the faithful went to the Rrmaji Cemetery, where the monument in honor of Dom Gjon Gazulli, hanged on a rope by the Zog regime, was inaugurated in 1927.
Meanwhile, one day after the beatification of the two martyrs of the religion and the Motherland, on Saturday in Shkodra – from the Vatican, on Sunday, Pope Francis also greeted this act during the Prayer, the Angel of God in the Vatican, for the Beatification of the Martyrs Dom Gjon Gazulli and That Luigj Paliq, while in the large crowd in St. Peter’s Square, the flag of the Albanian Nation was waving high and proudly.
Yes, who are these two “martyrs, witnesses of religion, defenders of basic human and people’s rights, examples of love, service and courage”?
Át Luigj Palaj is the clearest personification of the persecution of Kosovo Albanian Catholics. In 1913, while in Kosovo and more specifically in Gjakovë, the fierce campaign of persecution and assimilation of Albanian Catholics continued, Át Palaj encouraged the believers of those three, not to give up the religion of their ancestors and the Albanian identity.
For this reason, due to a pathological hatred towards everything Catholic and Albanian, the Montenegrin invaders arrested and tortured him, inhumanely. After a long period of imprisonment in Gjakovë, where even though under terrible torture he did not accept the conversion and denial of religion, he was dragged through the streets and pierced with bayonets in Peja, thus dying.
The other martyr, Dom Gjon Gazulli, from the well-known Gazullor tribe, was executed by King Zog by hanging, in Shkodër, on March 5, 1927. He was his opponent, due to the often discriminatory policies for Catholic areas, especially for Dukagjinin. Also, strongly and openly opposed the so-called; “Personal union of Albania with Yugoslavia”, on January 2, 1927. (Radio-Vatican, Albanian).
With their barbaric murder and their illumination on Saturday in Shkodër, these good Albanians, Dom Gjon Gazulli and Father Luigj Palaj, have already crossed the national borders of the Albanian lands, while now they represent not only the universal Catholic Church, but also the values universal of all mankind, as; “defenders of basic human and people’s rights, examples of love, service and courage”.
With their sublime sacrifice, they are an example for all of us of how honor, freedom, religion and national identity should be protected in the face of barbarians and dictators. Their example will forever remain an inspiration for future generations of Albanians and a global echo, from a small country like Albania, of how to fight by giving one’s life for ideals, for values, freedoms and universal and national human rights. Memorie.al
