Lazër Shantoja

Dom Lazër Shantoja (born September 2, 1892 , according to another source on July 7, 1891 in Shkodra ; † February 2, 1946 , according to another source as early as February 19, 1945 in Tirana ) was a Roman Catholic priest who lived in atheistic Albania of the Enver Hoxha regime was arrested, tortured and shot for the sake of his belief. He is one of the Thirty-Eight Martyrs of Albania .

Life

Lazër Shantoja came from an old, respected family in Shkodra, who were considered intellectual and patriotic. First he studied at the Pontifical Seminary in Shkodra, from 1914 at the University of Innsbruck . He was ordained a priest on May 29, 1915, and soon afterwards he was appointed secretary to Bishop Lazër Mjedjes in the Archdiocese of Shkodra , and he was pastor of Sheldi, and later (1917–1922) of Pulaj, Beltoja, Velipoja and Rrjoll. When Father Anton Harapi published the anti -government magazine Ora e Maleve in 1923 and 1924 , he received substantial support from Dom Lazër Shantoja.

In 1924, on the occasion of the funeral of a murdered opposition politician, Dom Lazër gave a famous speech in which he clearly stated that the government was - in his view - ineffective. He was arrested in January 1925 under President Zogu's government , but released a few months later. He went to Yugoslavia and some time later to Switzerland to the small village of La Motte near Ocourt , then to Vienna , where he published the magazine Ora e Shqipnisë .

In August 1939 he returned to Albania, which had since been occupied by Italy . Dom Lazër was appointed head of the Press and Propaganda Office in Tirana and spoke out in favor of an orientation for Albania towards fascist Italy and National Socialist Germany. When the communists came to power, they hurried to arrest him as a collaborator , so that he was arrested in Sheldi on January 30, 1945 and soon afterwards was taken to the Tirana prison, where he was tortured. The pastor of Tirana, Shtjefën Kurti, informed the Episcopal Ordinariate of Durrës in Delbnisht on February 9th that "there are three very honorable priests in the prison in Tirana: Pastor Lazër Shantoja, Pastor Josef Marxen and Father Frano Kiri ."

All of his extremities were broken under the torture until he could only crawl through his cell. When his mother saw him in this condition, she is said to have asked to put an end to his life. He was shot and buried anonymously.

Cultural creation

Lazër Shantoja had learned many languages and, in addition to the ancient languages , spoke his mother tongue Albanian as well as Italian, German, French and Esperanto. He let his great knowledge flow into the always carefully prepared sermons and was considered a very good speaker. He also wrote lyrical texts in which his love of the country was expressed. His musicality was admired, he received the affectionate nickname “Priest of the Pianoforte” among the population. His literary, also political-satirical achievements are mentioned together with those of Gjergj Fishta , Luigj Gurakuqin and Anton Harapi . The journals published with his participation include Hylli i Dritës , Leka , Cirka , Kumbona e së dielës , Zani i Shnad Ndout and Iliria . He made some translations from German (e.g. Goethe's Hermann and Dorothea and parts of Faust ). Dom Lazër Shantoja wrote not only under his own name, but also under several pseudonyms. He was u. a. Head of the Dante Alighieri Society in Tirana.

beatification

The beatification of Lazër Shantoja and 37 other martyrs 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 .
Markus WE Peters: History of the Catholic Church in Albania 1919-1993. Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 2003, ISBN 3-447-04784-4 .
Cäcilia Giebermann: Josef Marxen, missionary in Albania. Paulinus-Verlag, Trier 2016, ISBN 978-3-7902-2213-5 .
Konrrad Gjolaj: Çinaret. Provinca Françeskane, Shkodra 2006, ISBN 99943-696-8-7 .

Web links

Portrait of Shantojas on the website of the Archdiocese of Shkodra-Pult

Individual evidence

↑ This date of birth can be found e.g. B. on the website of the Archdiocese of Shkodra.
↑ Pjeter Pepa: Tragjedia dhe Lavdia e Klerit Katolik ne Shqiperi. Volume II. Tirana 2007, p. 368. Pepa points out that in many other publications the date of birth is given as September 2, 1892.
↑ This date of death can be found on the website of the Archdiocese of Shkodra.
^ Markus WE Peters: History of the Catholic Church in Albania 1919-1993. Wiesbaden 2003, p. 290.
↑ Konrrad Gjolaj: Çinaret. P. 76. Also Ernest Koliqi and Xhemal Alimehmeti, who refer to the report of fellow inmate Sulçe Begu. Both in: Pjetër Pepa: Tragjedia dhe Lavdia e Klerit Katolik ne Shqipëri. Vol. II, pp. 380-381.

personal data
SURNAME	Shantoja, Lazër
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Roman Catholic priest and martyr
DATE OF BIRTH	July 7, 1891 or September 2, 1892
PLACE OF BIRTH	Shkodra , Albania
DATE OF DEATH	February 19, 1945 or February 2, 1946
Place of death	Tirana , Albania

[1] This date of birth can be found e.g. B. on the website of the Archdiocese of Shkodra.

[2] Pjeter Pepa: Tragjedia dhe Lavdia e Klerit Katolik ne Shqiperi. Volume II. Tirana 2007, p. 368. Pepa points out that in many other publications the date of birth is given as September 2, 1892.

[3] This date of death can be found on the website of the Archdiocese of Shkodra.

[4] Markus WE Peters: History of the Catholic Church in Albania 1919-1993. Wiesbaden 2003, p. 290.

[5] Konrrad Gjolaj: Çinaret. P. 76. Also Ernest Koliqi and Xhemal Alimehmeti, who refer to the report of fellow inmate Sulçe Begu. Both in: Pjetër Pepa: Tragjedia dhe Lavdia e Klerit Katolik ne Shqipëri. Vol. II, pp. 380-381.