On January 5, 1555, Albanian Catholic priest Dom Gjon Buzuku completed his Meshari. Today, scholars recognize it as the first work of its kind and the earliest published literary document in the Albanian language.

In the preface, Buzuku himself states that he finished writing the work on January 5, 1555. Much later, in 1740, Archbishop of Skopje Gjon Nikollë Kazazi from Gjakova discovered the Meshari at the Propaganda Fide Library near Rome. Then, in 1909, the Arbëresh scholar Pal Skiroi rediscovered it at the Vatican Library in Rome, where it remains today under the catalog mark R.G. Liturgia III, 194.

In 1929, At Justin Rrota became the first to bring three photographed reproductions of the early Meshari from the Vatican Apostolic Library.

The Meshari stands as a monumental work of the Albanian language and culture. Buzuku began work on it on March 20, 1554, at a time when no biblical texts existed in Albanian. Therefore, recognizing the strong need of Albanian Christian believers to hear and celebrate the Word of God, the Liturgy, and the Holy Sacraments in their mother tongue, Dom Gjon Buzuku decided to compile this landmark work.

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