On March 19, 1949, the archbishop of this city, Monsignor Vinçenc Prennushi, passed away in a prison of Durrës.

Devotion to the Catholic religion would cost him his freedom and his life.

He was born in Shkodër on September 4, 1885. He was baptized with the name Kolë. He entered the Franciscan Convent of his hometown in 1900, and then was ordained a priest in Tyrol, Austria, where he completed his studies, changing his name to Vincent.

He also dealt with activities beyond the ecclesiastical sphere. It started publishing in 1909. In 1911, he published “Folk Songs in Gheg”. Later, he would develop his writing skills with the plays “E trathuemja” /The Betrayed One/, “Prej robnie ne liri” /From Captivity to Freedom/, as well as with the study “Nder lamije të demokracisë së vëtetë ”  /In the Field of True Democracy/(1922). While, in 1924, he further enriched his creativity with the poetic work “Leaves and flowers”.

He became well acquainted with many European languages ​​and cultures, especially German. The “Kangët” /The Songs/ of Prenushi became the foundation on which the national monumental work “Visaret e Kombit” /The nation treasuries/ would later be erected.

Monsignor Prenushi was involved in the translation of some of the most twisted works of the time, such as: “Quo Vadis” by the Polish novelist Henryk Sienkiewiz, “My Prisons” by the Italian author Silvio Pellico and the poem “Dreizehnlinden” by the German Friedrich Wilhelm Weber.

In 1947, during the wave of persecution of the clergy, he was arrested in Tirana and then moved to Durrës prison, where he passed away defending his values, ideals and beliefs until his last breath.

Monsignor Vinçenc Prennushi with 37 other martyrs of the Albanian Catholic Church, after the canonical ecclesiastical process of beatification, and with the approval of the Pope Francis, was declared “Blessed” with the solemn ceremony of Beatification, celebrated in Shkodër, on November 5, 2016.

/a.p./