Roman Catholicism in Albania

Roman Catholicism In Albania

The information in this article is from the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica and it is largely outdated. For current information, see de:Katholische Kirche in Albanien

The Roman Catholic Church in Albania is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope and curia in Rome.

Acording to some sources around 16.8%-17% of the population of Albania is Catholic, but in the 2011 census the percentage of Catholics was 10.03%. More than 10,000 Albanian Catholics are located in south Montenegro under an Albanian Municipality. The region is considered part of the Malsia Highlander region of the seven Albanian Catholic tribes. The region was split after WWII.

There are five dioceses in the country, including two archdioceses plus an Apostolic Administration covering southern Albania.

For four centuries, the Albanian Catholics have defended their faith with the aid of:

• The Franciscan missionaries, especially since the middle of the 17th century, when persecutions by the Muslim lords set in motion the apostasy of many Albanian villages, particularly among the Greeks.

• the College of Propaganda at Rome, especially prominent in religious and moral support of Albanian Catholics. During the 17th and 18th centuries, particularly, it educated young clerics for service on the Albanian missions, contributing then as now to their support and to that of the churches.

• the Austrian Government, which gave about five thousand dollars yearly to the Albanian missions, in its role of Protector of the Christian community under Turkish rule. Apropos of the Austrian interest in Albania, it may be stated that it is the Austrian ambassador who obtains from the Sultan the Berat, or civil document of institution, for the Catholic bishops of Albania.

The Church legislation of the Albanians was reformed by Pope Clement XI, effecting a general ecclesiastical visitation (1763) by the Archbishop of Antivari, at the close of which a national synod was held. Its decrees were printed by Propaganda (1705), and renewed in 1803. In 1872, Pius IX caused a second national synod to be held at Scutari, for the renovation of the popular and ecclesiastical life.