While in Rome for their Ad Limina Apostolorum visit, the leaders of the Catholic Church in Albania were received in a private audience by the Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV.
During the meeting, which lasted more than an hour, the bishops briefed the Pope on the situation and current state of the Church and Albania, presenting the realities, challenges and concerns they face.
On behalf of the bishops and the entire Catholic Church in Albania, Archbishop Gjergj Meta, Bishop of Rrëshen and President of the Episcopal Conference of Albania, addressed the Pope.
The Church leaders presented the Holy Father with an icon of Our Lady of Good Counsel, Patroness of the Albanian People, masterfully crafted by an Albanian artist. They also renewed their invitation for him to visit Albania.
They also presented him with a book dedicated to Albania’s martyrs, documenting the history of the Church’s martyrdom and its remarkable resilience in the country. The gifts were completed with a traditional Zadrima textile, a distinctive symbol not only of the region but also of the love, dedication and daily work of Albanian mothers.
Gjergj Meta’s address:
Most Holy Father,
It is my pleasure to extend this brief greeting to you on behalf of the Episcopal Conference of Albania on the occasion of our Ad Limina Apostolorum visit. Videre Petrum — seeing Peter — and visiting the tombs of the Apostles are, for us, an opportunity to celebrate our faith, to strengthen our bond with you, Holy Father, and to be strengthened in our faith. Thus renewed, we will return to our dioceses to strengthen the faith of our priests, religious men and women, and lay faithful.
Holy Father, first of all, I greet you on behalf of the bishops and administrators present here. Together, we represent five dioceses and one Apostolic Administration. As shepherds of the Church in Albania, in communion with the universal Church and the See of Rome, we continue, even amid difficulties, our ministry as shepherds of the flock entrusted to us by Christ the Lord through the Successor of Peter.
In a special way, I bring you the greetings and embrace of our priests, who work every day with dedication in the Lord’s vineyard. They express to you, Holy Father, their loyalty and love, and they pray for you.
I bring you the greetings of our religious men and women, who, through their fidelity to Christ and their observance of the evangelical counsels, are a great sign for our faithful and beyond. They, too, are with us today, and we become their voice in greeting and embracing you.
I bring you the greetings and affection of our faithful, from all dioceses and all parishes, from the most visible to the least visible. They look upon you, Holy Father, with great affection.
Albanian Catholics have always remained faithful to the Apostolic See, despite hardship, persecution, poverty and isolation. Everyone young and old, adults and children, men and women sends you a warm and heartfelt embrace, asking for the protection of the Blessed Albanian Martyrs over your ministry.
Finally, I bring you the greetings of all Albanians, including those who are not Catholic, and especially those of the country’s religious leaders. They wish you well and see in you a friend and a guide who has something to say to the world, including on behalf of all those who have no voice.
Holy Father, we wish to thank you for the witness you have given to all of us and to the entire world from the very first moment you appeared on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, when you called for a disarmed and disarming peace. With evangelical determination, on many occasions you have proclaimed the peace that comes from Christ and condemned war.
We thank you for the Encyclical Magnifica Humanitas, which has offered us an anthropological vision at a time when humanity seems to be pushed aside by artificial intelligence machines and an algorithm that presents itself as a substitute for human responsibility. In this beautiful encyclical, you have once again highlighted the central place of the human person, every man and every woman, and their dignity.
Thank you, Holy Father, also for the testimony you have chosen and had the courage to give to the world by making your health condition known. We have prayed for you and will continue to do so.
Most Holy Father, as we conclude this meeting, we renew our invitation for you to visit Albania. Our Lady of Good Counsel awaits you with her embrace, and it is to her that we entrust your ministry and ours as shepherds.
Thank you! Bless us and our Churches! We assure you of our prayers.
