The Authority for Information on the Documents of the former State Security 1944-1991 commemorated today the 142nd anniversary of the birth of Father Mati Prennushi (October 2, 1882 – March 11, 1948).

Father Prennushi pursued theological studies in Graz, Austria. He was arrested in early 1948, along with other clerics.

In his final words, he stated: “I am innocent, but I die in the fulfillment of my duty. Long live Christ the King, long live the Pope, long live the Catholics, long live Albania. I forgive the court and those who will fire upon our innocent bodies!”

He was executed on March 11, 1948, at the Rrmaji Cemetery square, along with Monsignor Frano Gjini, Monsignor Nikollë Deda, Father Çiprijan Nika, and Father Mati Prennushi, who has been declared a martyr and holds the high decoration of the Flag of the Nation.

The documents of the investigative-judicial processes state that they were convicted for “the offense of weakening the defense,” as well as the political accusation that they planned to organize an armed uprising and hide weapons in the church and the Franciscan Monastery of Shkodra, an act fabricated by the State Security, documented in the History of the Security Forces, Shkodra.

On January 26, 1946, the dictator declared: “The elements of the Catholic clergy implicated in Shkodra, under the guise of religion and in their seminaries, had created the center of a fascist organization, which is also connected with non-Catholic elements and war criminals, carrying out organized activity against the people’s government. The Catholic clerics were caught red-handed with documents in hand, and in their seminary, materials were seized that served their work, which consisted of preparing an armed uprising to overthrow the people’s government,” thus signaling the intensification of the ideological war against religion, starting with the punishment of its key figures and later with the closure of all religious institutions and the declaration of religious belief as illegal.

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