In a message to Cardinal Ernest Simoni, Pope Leo XIV recalled the sufferings of the Albanian faithful under the Communist regime there (1946-1991).
Cardinal Simoni, a prisoner of the regime from 1963 to 1981, returned to Spaç Prison, a site where he was interned, to celebrate Mass on July 31.
“No chain is strong enough to imprison a conscience enlightened by the Gospel; no night is so long that it can prevent the dawn the Lord prepares for His children; and no prison is deep enough to separate a person from the love of God,” Pope Leo wrote. “The blood of those who suffered and died among those mountains has watered that land, making it a silent witness to fidelity, courage and hope.”