Bishop Simon Kulli of Sapë in northern Albania passed away unexpectedly at the age of 52. Bishop Kulli was a key figure in the Albanian Church and a close partner of Aid to the Church in Need (ACN). He was among the first priests ordained after the fall of the communist regime. His vocation was inspired by witnessing a priest who had suffered imprisonment celebrating Mass. Kulli's baptism was secretly performed by a nun who risked her life to provide sacraments during the communist era.
11 days ago
Bishop Simon Kulli, the Bishop of Sapë in northern Albania, died suddenly on November 29, 2025, at the age of 52.1 2 3
The pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) announced the news, expressing deep sorrow over the loss of a close collaborator and prominent voice in the Albanian Church.1 2 3
ACN highlighted his invaluable service to the Church, his country, and humanity as a project partner.1 2 3
Kulli belonged to the first generation of priests trained after Albania's communist regime fell, a period marked as the most atheist and repressive of the 20th century.1 2 3
He was secretly baptized days after his birth by Stigmatine nun Sister Marije Kaleta, who risked her life to administer sacraments under communist surveillance.1 2 3
Discovery of the baptism could have led to his family's imprisonment, underscoring the regime's hostility toward faith.1 2 3
Kulli's vocation emerged from witnessing an elderly priest, imprisoned for 28 years under communism, celebrate Mass in Latin for the first time after religious freedom's restoration.1 2 3
Seeing the priest's frailty at the altar inspired Kulli to think, "I could replace him," marking the pivotal moment of his calling.1 2 3
This personal story embodied the Albanian Church's transition from persecution to renewal.1 2 3
Kulli grew up knowing the "living martyrs"—priests, religious, and laypeople who endured imprisonment and torture for their faith.1 2 3
Their testimonies instilled profound hope in him, despite never experiencing prison himself, as they revealed the deprivation of faith under oppression.1 2 3
He actively promoted the martyrs, noting that 38 were beatified in 2016 and two more in 2024, believing their sacrifice would inspire many vocations.1 2 3
As commissioner for the pastoral care of health care workers in the Albanian Bishops’ Conference, Kulli addressed key pastoral needs.1 2 3
He also served on the executive committee of the European Federation of Catholic Medical Associations, extending his influence regionally.1 2 3
In meetings with ACN representatives a year before his death, he expressed gratitude for their support to Albanian dioceses, including Sapë.1 2 3
In his final ACN interview, Kulli encouraged persecuted Christians: "After death, there is always resurrection… Stay strong, with no fear… because Christ always wins… with Christ you can overcome any difficulty."1 2 3
ACN praised his testimony of faith, humility, and joy as a "fruitful seed" for Albania's Catholic Church.1 2 3
His life and work continue to symbolize resilience and hope in post-communist Albania.1 2 3
Impact of communist suppression on Albanian Catholic clergy
The communist regime in Albania, established after World War II, unleashed one of the most severe persecutions against the Catholic Church in modern history, profoundly impacting the Albanian Catholic clergy. From property confiscations and forced secularization to widespread arrests, tortures, and executions, the suppression aimed to eradicate religious influence, particularly targeting the clergy as symbols of fidelity to Rome. This era, culminating in Albania's declaration as the world's first atheist state in 1967, forced the Church underground, decimating its leadership and leaving a legacy of martyrdom that ultimately sowed seeds for renewal. Drawing from historical accounts and papal reflections, the impacts were both immediate—marked by loss of life and institutional collapse—and enduring, shaping the Church's resilience and post-communist revival.
Albania's communist regime, under Enver Hoxha, emerged victorious after World War II and quickly moved to dismantle religious structures. Although the 1946 constitution nominally guaranteed religious freedom, the reality was starkly different: all church properties were confiscated, foreign clergy expelled or arrested, and religious education banned in favor of atheist indoctrination.<sup></sup> Seminaries closed, charitable organizations dissolved, and the clergy branded as fascists, confining their activities to church interiors—if those remained standing.<sup></sup> Catholicism, associated with Italian influence due to historical ties, faced the harshest measures; Italian priests were targeted alongside Albanian ones, with show trials in 1946 leading to executions.<sup></sup>
By 1951, a decree severed the Catholic Church's links with Rome, establishing an "Independent Catholic Church of Albania" loyal to the state.<sup></sup> Pressure intensified in the late 1950s, eliminating all residential bishops by 1959, leaving the Church to operate via three Vatican-appointed apostolic administrators: Ernest Coba for Shkodra, Nikollë Troshani for Tirana-Durrës, and Antonin Fishta for Pult.<sup></sup> The 1967 Cultural Revolution escalated this into total prohibition: Albania became the world's first atheist state on November 13, 1967, banning all religious services, public or private.<sup></sup> The 1977 Penal Code criminalized religious acts, with baptisms punishable by death, and laws in 1975 mandated non-religious names while renaming saint-honoring places (e.g., Shënvasil became Përparim, meaning "Progress").<sup></sup> Hundreds of churches were destroyed or repurposed as warehouses and cinemas propagating Marxist ideology.<sup></sup> This systematic assault, lasting over 40 years, affected clergy across rites—Latin and Eastern—but hit the Roman Catholic minority hardest due to its perceived foreign allegiance.<sup></sup>
The regime's strategy focused on eliminating prominent Catholic leaders to break the Church's spine. Out of five bishops, two were killed, and of 180 priests, 40 perished—through execution, torture, or prison conditions.<sup></sup> Religious orders, including Franciscans and Jesuits, were dissolved, their members imprisoned or shot.<sup></sup> Pope Francis later highlighted portraits of 40 assassinated priests along Tirana's main boulevard, noting they joined hundreds of Christian and Muslim religious figures tortured, imprisoned, or deported solely for believing in God.<sup></sup> Religious books were burned, and parents forbidden from bestowing Christian names on children.<sup></sup>
Key figures exemplify this toll. Archbishop Vinçenc Prennushi, O.F.M., Primate of Albania and Archbishop of Durrës, refused Hoxha's demand to lead a national church detached from Rome.<sup></sup> Arrested in 1947 and sentenced to 20 years, he died on March 19, 1949, in Durrës prison from maltreatment, continuing acts of charity even in captivity.<sup></sup><sup></sup> As the highest Church authority, his targeting was pivotal in the regime's anti-Catholic campaign; he had opposed nationalization alongside Bishop Frano Gjini.<sup></sup> Bishop Gjini, Abbot Nullius of St. Alexander of Orosh in Mirdita, protested the antireligious policies and was executed by firing squad in Shkodra on March 11, 1948, alongside Franciscans.<sup></sup> Franciscan leaders like Father Çiprian Nika, O.F.M., and Father Mati Prendushi, O.F.M. (Provincial Minister), were among the early victims, as the regime sought to eliminate preachers and formators of conscience.<sup></sup>
Cardinal Mikel Koliqi's ordeal illustrates the broader clerical suffering: appointed vicar general of Shkodra Archdiocese, he faced repeated arrests under communism, enduring years of forced labor in camps until his 1986 release.<sup></sup> Threats and pressures failed to deter his evangelization, but the regime's "violent opposition" subjected him to harsh winters of persecution.<sup></sup> These stories, part of the 38 Albanian martyrs beatified on November 5, 2016, in Shkodra, underscore a persecution spanning clergy, religious, and laity—young and old, across social classes—through public show trials, false conspiracy accusations, and brutal killings.<sup></sup> Prennushi symbolically led this group due to his archiepiscopal dignity, despite not dying first chronologically.<sup></sup>
With overt structures dismantled, the Albanian Catholic clergy retreated to a "catacomb" existence, as described by Pope John Paul II.<sup></sup> After 1967, the Roman Catholic Church "formally ceased to exist," its remnants operating clandestinely.<sup></sup> Priests and bishops like the apostolic administrators sustained faith through secret ministries, risking death for sacraments.<sup></sup> This half-century of dictatorship (1944–1991) tested the Church's vitality, making its survival seem impossible at times, yet the Lord's presence sowed "seeds of new growth."<sup></sup> As Tertullian noted, "The blood of martyrs is the seed of Christians," a truth vividly realized in Albania through priests and religious enduring imprisonment and torture.<sup></sup>
The suppression extended beyond physical violence to cultural erasure: clergy could no longer form consciences publicly, and the Church's link to Rome was vilified as foreign intrigue.<sup></sup> Pope John Paul II, reflecting on this in 1993, praised the "golden thread of faith" unbroken in the Albanian spirit, resisting totalitarian ideology.<sup></sup> By the regime's end, no ordained bishops remained active openly, and the clergy's numbers were decimated, forcing lay Catholics to preserve traditions in hiding.
The fall of communism in 1990–1991 brought repeal of antireligious laws on May 8, 1990, allowing religious orders like Franciscans and Jesuits to resume work and hierarchies to restore.<sup></sup> Churches reopened by November 1991, marking ecclesial life's visible return, celebrated in Rome on its 10th anniversary.<sup></sup> Pope John Paul II, during his 1993 visit, ordained four new bishops in Shkodra's cathedral after decades without, symbolizing rebirth.<sup></sup><sup></sup> He urged preserving the memory of this "tragedy of dictatorship" as a warning against exploitation and violence, with martyrs' sacrifice offering "courage and hope" for moral renewal.<sup></sup>
The impact lingers in the Church's strength derived not from structures but from "Christ’s love," as Pope Francis emphasized in 2014, drawing from martyrs' union with Jesus.<sup></sup> Beatification processes for 40 priests and others highlight ongoing recognition, ensuring their witness inspires forgiveness and mercy.<sup></sup> Today, the Albanian Church collaborates with Orthodox and Muslim communities in democracy-building, its clergy's heroism fostering interfaith esteem.<sup></sup><sup></sup> Yet challenges persist, including emigration driven by poverty, where the Church aids precarious migrants.<sup></sup>
In summary, communist suppression ravaged the Albanian Catholic clergy through executions, imprisonments, and institutional obliteration, claiming lives like those of Prennushi and Gjini while forcing an underground faith. This "dark winter" yielded a resilient spring, with martyrs' blood seeding renewal, beatifications honoring their sacrifice, and papal encouragement guiding the Church toward hope and collaboration. Their legacy reminds us that fidelity to Christ triumphs over tyranny, inviting ongoing commitment to Albania's spiritual and social healing.