Pope Clement XI is a Pope who can truly be called of Albanian origin, for which he himself was constantly proud, asserting, more or less, like Mother Teresa, that “he was Albanian by blood” and also helping them concretely, in many cases, the lands and pines of the ancestors. It deserves, therefore, a special treatment, to finally know the path he traveled to sit on the throne of Saint Peter.

Pope Clement XI John Francis Albani is a Pope who can truly be called of Albanian origin, for which he himself was constantly proud, asserting, more or less, like Mother Teresa, that “he was Albanian by blood” and also concretely helped, in many cases, the lands and pine trees of the ancestors. It deserves, therefore, a special treatment, to finally know the path he traveled to sit on the throne of St. Peter. On March 19, 1721, John Francis Albani, the 243rd elected to the throne of Saint Peter, passed away in Rome. This year, his well-known name is mentioned in all the activities of the Albanian world, dedicated to Clement XI, on the 300th anniversary of his death. We too, starting today, are devoting a cycle of daily shows to it.

The genealogy of this very ancient family, from Northern Albania, is unfortunately only known starting from Captain Mëhill Laca and his sons, Filip and Gergj. It is known that, after fighting against the Turks alongside George Kastrioti Skanderbeg in Albania, until 1469, when the famous fortress, that of Rozafa, defended by the blood of thousands of brave men, fell, they were forced to leave the country, like many other Christians, to preserve religion and customs, which would gradually “become bastardized” under the foreign rule. They chose Italy as their place of exile, where they were received by the lord of Montefeltro, the Duke of Urbino. He ran away with no other shield than his swords. So, they had nothing to keep as a memory of their fiery times, from where they came to the Italian land. They decided, then, to preserve what they had most dear: the name of the Motherland. For the host gentlemen, they were Albanians, they changed the name Laca, which continues to be preserved in Albania to this day, with Albani. This is how the history of the great Albani family began, in whose cradles not one, but many famous Albanians were rocked, up to Pope Clement XI, who we can call the Pope, with mixed Italian blood, because he is the grandson and great-grandson of a well-known Italian noble, according to the family tree.

Clement XI, or. John Francis Albani was born on July 23, 1649, in Urbino, Italy and passed away on March 19, 1721, in Rome. He was the 243rd pope of the Catholic Church. He served as pope from his election on November 23, 1700, until March 19, 1721, after leading the Catholic Church for 21 succesive years and ranks fourth in terms of years at the head of the Catholic Church after Saint Peter with 35 years, Pope Pius IX with 31 years, Pope John Paul II with 26 years.

Clement XI’s aid to Albania

The constant hope of the Pope of Albanian origin, Clement XI, to unite Christianity, gave wide results in Albania, where the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church coexisted for a period. Clement XI was very interested in the political and religious renaissance of his homeland. The holding of the “first Albanian national religious council” (1703) belongs to that period, which marked radical changes in the line of action of the clergy for dogmatic, moral, canonical and Episcopal issues.

Meanwhile, changes were also noticed in the Orthodox wing. Many Orthodox priests from Albania had asked the Pope for help for political support, bringing a religious rapprochement. Thus, at first a certain union was achieved, but later, since it was not at the right height, the opening of the archbishopric seats for the Catholic dioceses of Ohrid and Skopje was achieved. A mission of the Byzantine rite was operating in Himara from 1628.

Very soon, the Albanians started climbing one after the other in the career ladder, first diplomatic and then political, starting with Orazio Albani (1576 – 1653), who left Urbino for Rome, where he became a senator. The son, Annibale, devoted himself to the ecclesiastical career and became Prefect of the Vatican Library. The brother, Charles (1623 – 1684), married the Marquise of Pesaro, Elena Mosca, with whom he had two sons: Horace (1652 – 1712) and Giovanni Francesco, or Gianfrancesco (1649 – 1721).

/a.p./