On December 21, 1964, Franciscan Father Justin Rrota passed away.

He was the first to bring from the Apostolic Library of the Vatican to Albania in 1929 three photographed reproductions of the earliest book published in Albanian, Gjon Buzuku’s “Mess” (1555). His calibrated commitment to the Albanian language and letters included the study of grammar, syntax, morphology and literary historiography.

He received his first lessons in his hometown, in Shkodër, while he was going to study theology in Klagenfurt, Austria. Rrota would also serve as a teacher, initially in Troshan and starting from 1921, at the “Illyricum” gymnasium in Shkodër.

In addition to teaching, he was noted for his diligence in studies. He published many scientific articles under the pseudonyms “Iris”, “Patër Ndou” and “Viator”.

His writings were first published in the magazines “Zani i Shna Ndout” and “Hylli i Drita”, which belonged to the disciplines of linguistics and literature. Father Justin Rrota was one of the first publishers of textbooks for secondary schools. In 1940, the Institute of Albanian Studies elected him as a member of its ranks, in the capacity of language teacher.

/k.s/