Franciscanism in Albania was a period of FranciscanCatholicism in the Albanian highlands of Malësia. The origins of Franciscanism in Albania can be traced back to the 13th century. Franciscans opposed the conversions of Albanians to the Orthodox faith. Franciscanism expanded further in 1638 with the Italian Fra Cherubino, one of the founding fathers of the Franciscan mission in the region. Italian friars, priests and lay brothers from the Holy Congregation of the Propagation of the faith arrived in 1635 to catholicise the region. The first Catholic mission in Albania was under the supervision of Ragusa in 1283. Through out the 18th century, the Albanian Franciscans had a clear social and political agenda as they worked toward an enlightened revitalization of their own nation which helped strengthen Albanian identity. At the same time, the Catholic Church was supported and a law code was developed for Christians and Muslims alike. Two of the most known Albanian Franciscan frias were Gjergj Fishta and Shtjefën Gjeçov. In 1913, Catholics published articles and news in the Franciscan papers Hylli i Dritës and Zani I Shna Ndout in Shkodër. The Franciscans supported the Latin Albanian alphabet invented by Mgr. Doci.
History
The Franciscan order was invented in 1209 by Saint Francis of Assini and began in Albania in 1248 when a group of missionary monks came to the country. Indeed, they had already began building churches in Lezhë in 1240 with the help of an Albanian miller named Dom Lleshi. Lajos Thallóczy mentions a script in Latin that refers to Franciscans living in the regions of Kotor, Bar, Ulcinj, and Durrës in 1248: Franciscans were well established in 1464 in Lezhë. Elsie believes that the Catholicism in the Malësia highlands survived thanks to the Franciscans. Murzaku writes that the Franciscans fought to maintain Catholicism in Malësia in the 17th century and that the Latin faith maintained Albanians connection to western Europe. In 1272 King Charles I of Anjou occupied most of Albania and brought Franciscan friars with pro-Roman and pro-papal ideals after he proclaimed "Regnum Albaniae". Albanian nobles, such as Demetrio Arbanensi, sent a letter to Pope Innocent III seeking his assistance in the preaching of the Roman Catholic faith. In 1288, Queen Helene d'Anjou initiated the building of Franciscan convent of Saint Mary in Shkodër and Franciscan convent of Saint Mark in Ulqin as well as in Tivar and Kotorr. Stefan Uros IV Dusan occupied most of Anjous kingdom and enforced Dušan's Code forbidding and punishing Catholic proselytism. Franciscans and Dominicans were trapped between eastern and western political tensions with Rome seeking to maintain a Catholic embankment to halt Slavic Orthodoxism. The first Franciscans and their monasteries between Kotorr and Durrës were under the jurisdiction of the Custody of Dubrovnik. The monasteries of Tivar, Svac, Ulqin and Shkodër remained under Dubrovnik until the 15th century. Pope Boniface IX separated them under the Durrës custody due to attacks from Ottomans as communication with Zadar had been difficult. In the 13th century, Franciscans accompanied merchants from Dubrovnik who established trading colonies in Kosovo and the Albanian-speaking areas of Montenegro, however, Slavic Franciscans were criticized by the Albanian clergy as being "handicapped" as they did not speak Albanian. During the age of Skanderbeg, Dominican Franciscans were distinguished for their diplomacy religious missions and after Skanderbegs death, the monasteries were destroyed by Ottoman forces. In 1585 the Franciscan Superior General Francis Gonzaga established the Albanian Franciscan Administration which had five monasteries in several villages. In 1589 The General created the Albanian Franciscan Province which was approved by Pope Clement VIII which enabled the building of more monasteries. However Catholicism declined and a new Franciscan mission began in 1634 with priests landing in Dubrovnik on their way to Ottoman-occupied Albania. During the Ottoman era, only Franciscans were allowed to look after the religious welfare amongst the Catholics. The Habsburg authorities had supported the Franciscans work in the Ottoman protectorate of 'dissidents' of Catholic Albania since 1839. The Franciscans educated many scholars, historians, writers and teachers and held a communication line between Albania and the rest of Europe securing western culture. It is believed that Andrea Bogdani received his initial schooling from Franciscans in Ciprovac in Bulgaria and then continued to the Illyrian College of Loretto. In 1634, after the Franciscan churches had imbedded the usage of Albanian language, the Holy See in Rome decided that they would settle once and for all in Shkoer, Lezhë and Zadrima. In 1861, the first Albanian Franciscan school was opened in Shkodër. The Franciscans maintained good relations with the poor highlanders of Malësia and at the end of the 19th century, most Franciscans were Albanians. In 1902 the Franciscans were allowed by the Sultan to build a church in Shkodër. In 1905 Shtjefen Gjecovi encouraged his Franciscans to collect the treasures of the Albanian folklore. In 1945, Moscow and Beograd sought to wipe out the Albanian Franciscan and Dominican heritage as they were seen as "the volcanic spirit of the Albanians". In 1947 the Albanian secret police used the church as a cache for arms and when the priests discovered it, they were imprisoned and killed. A former communist officer named Pjerer Kqira revealed in court that the authorities had planted weapons and grenades in the church in order to arrest the clergy. He was later executed for this. In 1946, Moscow ordered that the Franciscan clergy be trialed and executed and a Muslim Albanian lawyer Muzafer Pipa defended the Franciscans in court as they were much respected amongst Albanians. He was beaten to death by the authorities.
Culture
The Franciscans were respected by Albanians through out history as they taught in the Albanian language. Franciscan Albanians were usually the biggest patriots. In 2015, Archbishop Rrok Mirdita of Tirana, who had been tortured in communist prison camp, died and there was a cross of photographs established in the city. On Saturday 5 November 2016, up to 20,000 people attended a Mass at the Shen Shtjefni cathedral in the Albanian city of Shkodër to celebrate the beatification of 38 Albanian Catholic martyrs executed or tortured to death during the former communist regime. According to a Catholic historical report from 1923, Albanian intellectual life and poetry is said to have originated entirely from the Franciscans.
