On Thursday, January 7, the "Peace in All Lands" march took place in Shkodra, Albania. This parade was promoted by the Community of Sant'Egidio in collaboration with the Archdiocese of Shkoder-Pult. In particular, the procession was led by Archbishop Angelo Massafra, and it departed from the cathedral and stopped at the Poor Clare Monastery, which is a former commissariat and prison of the Sigurimi (secret police). The march stopped because Ndrek Palushani, who was imprisoned for his faith during Enver Hoxha's dictatorship, gave a speech in this Monastery.
The 25th anniversary of the first public mass and the reopening of the local mosque was commemorated in Shkodra last November. This celebration symbolized a country that is on its way to freedom. Palushani recalled the decades when persecution affected all the religions of the state, which was declared to be atheist in 1967. When it comes to the Catholic Church, 65 people out of 6 bishops and 156 priests, who had lived before the dictatorship, died because of the death sentence or torture. Moreover, 64 of them passed away after being in prison or camps. A witness said in addressing the young people "to remember them is to build peace today".
The concluding moment took place in the central square by the statue of Mother Teresa, who is a blessed Albanian woman that will be canonized in September. Msgr. Massafra and the Community of Sant'Egidio remembered how peace is built by taking an interest in others, from the poorest in one's own cities to the inhabitants of the most distant warring countries. As the Pope said in his January 1st message, "If you want to live in peace, you must overcome indifference".
The march was also an opportunity to reaffirm the Spirit of Assisi, which did a stop-over in Albania from September 6-8, 2015, with the International Meeting "Peace is always possible". This is the Spirit of Assisi: only peace is holy, all religions lead us and must lead us to peace.
