Jak Bushati

Don Jak Bushati (born August 8, 1890 in Shkodra , † September 12, 1949 in Lezha ) was a Roman Catholic priest who was arrested for his belief in atheistic Albania under the Enver Hoxha regime and died under torture. He is one of the Thirty-Eight Martyrs of Albania .

Life

The baptism certificate still preserved gives information about his birth on August 8, 1890, in which Pastor Dr. Agostino Barbullushi explains that the child of the married couple Kola and Tone, Giaccomo (with the Albanian name Jak), who was born on the lecture, was baptized. In spite of this, Father Donat Kurti, who later recorded the dates of Jak Bushati's spiritual path, also noted that he was born on July 20, 1890. Jak Bushati was regarded as a good child who was very attached to the parents. Encouraged by the example of his brother Filip, he wanted to attend high school. He studied in Trieste and later returned to the Pontifical Seminary in Shkodra.

On August 25, 1905, he was clothed with the Franciscans . He made his first profession on September 4, 1906. He was considered an attentive student who spoke few words. On 30 May 1915 he celebrated his first Mass . Then he served as a priest in the mountainous region of Mirdita for 26 years . Soon he was deployed in a particularly poor district, he got involved with the people there and adapted his words and sermons to the new environment. The humble priest enjoyed a high reputation among the faithful and was able to successfully intervene in blood revenge attempts and prevent killings.

In 1946 he was transferred to Kallmet in the Zadrima , a place that seemed to promise an easier life. Soon, however, in April 1949, he was arrested on charges that a group critical of the government had formed in his diocese. A fellow inmate told Father Aleks Baçli that Jak Bushati was interrogated several times a day and then brought back to the cell bleeding and unconscious. Jak Bushati was asked to deny his Christian faith and to provide information about the alleged revolt of his fellow believers. When he stuck to his refusal and made no concession, he was severely tortured, according to the testimony of contemporary witnesses: he was hanged from a tree for several days and tortured with iron bars heated in the fire, small pieces of wood were pushed under his fingernails with a whip he was beaten bloody. He died in prison as a result of severe torture before he could be tried.

memories

A nephew, Nard Bushati, recalls that on August 12, 1949, the family received news that Jak Bushati had died. They were told to collect the body and were ordered not to open the coffin. The coffin seemed too light for the body, and they found that his body had been torn apart from the torture. The nephew also remembers that Jak Bushati was a staunch, humble and "immortal" priest for the faithful.

Bishop Frano Illia recalls that he was charged with resisting because, like all priests, he was a staunch anti-communist. Bishop Illia heard from a deacon at the time that the corpse was so disfigured that people could not recognize Jak Bushati in it.

Bushati's words have been passed down in Albania: "The rosary is the most powerful weapon in a person's hand."

beatification

The beatification of Jak Bushati and 37 other martyrs, including Lazër Shantoja , who was ordained a priest with him , took place on November 5, 2016 in Shkodra. The Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, Cardinal Angelo Amato , presided over the celebrations on behalf of Pope Francis.

literature

• Pjetër Pepa: Tragjedia dhe Lavdia e Klerit Katolik në Shqipëri. Shtëpia Botuese 55, Tirana 2007, Vol. II, ISBN 978-99943-921-6-2 . This includes the memories of Nard Bushati and Bishop Illia.
• Padre Leonardo Di Pinto OFM: Profilo storico agiografico di Mons. Vinçenc Prennushi e Compagni Martiri. Casa Editrice Arcidiocesi Metropolitana Scutari-Pult, Vol. I, ISBN 978-9928-4373-0-3 .
• Konrrad Gjolaj: Çinaret. Privinca Françeskane, Shkodra 2006, ISBN 99943-696-8-7 .

Web links

• Portrait of Bushatis on the website of the Archdiocese of Shkodra-Pult (Albanian)