Pubblichiamo di seguito il Messaggio del Santo Padre Francesco in occasione dell’Intronizzazione dell’Arcivescovo di Tirana, Durrës e di tutta l'Albania, Sua Beatitudine Joani, che è stato consegnato da S.E. Mons. Flavio Pace, Segretario del Dicastero per la Promozione dell'Unità dei Cristiani, alla guida della delegazione composta da Mons. Andrea Palmieri, Sottosegretario del medesimo Dicastero, e da Mons. Ionuţ Paul Strejac, Incaricato d'Affari a.i. della Nunziatura Apostolica:

Messaggio del Santo Padre

To His Beatitude Joani

Archbishop of Tirana, Durrës and All Albania

It is with particular joy that I extend to Your Beatitude my fraternal greetings in the love of Christ on the occasion of your enthronement as Archbishop of Tirana, Durrës and All Albania.

In expressing my spiritual closeness, I assure you of my prayers that God the Father, source of all good, will grant you the abundant gifts of the Holy Spirit as you guide the flock entrusted to your care.

You are now the successor of our beloved brother of venerable memory, His Beatitude Anastas, whose witness of Christian life and apostolic zeal has left a deep and lasting legacy in Albania. Among his many activities during the course of his ministry, Anastas distinguished himself by his commitment to the peaceful coexistence of men and women belonging to different Churches and religious traditions, and he contributed significantly to the improvement of relations between our Churches.

I am certain that Your Beatitude, following the example of your predecessor, will continue to foster dialogue as a means of overcoming divisions and promote the search for full communion among all of Christ’s disciples. Indeed, in these difficult times marked by war and violence, it is ever more urgent that Christians bear credible witness to unity, so that the world may fully embrace the Gospel message of fraternal solidarity and peace. We thus bear the responsibility of proceeding together to manifest in an ever more visible way the real communion, if alas not yet complete, that already unites us. It is my heartfelt hope, therefore, that under your paternal guidance, relations between the Church of Albania and the Catholic Church will develop further, seeking new forms of fruitful cooperation in proclaiming the Gospel, serving those most in need and renewing our commitment to resolving the issues that still separate us through the dialogue of charity and truth.

With these sentiments, and expressing once again the assurance of my prayers and fervent good wishes, I ask Almighty God to grant you every grace and heavenly blessing in your high ministry, and I exchange with Your Beatitude a fraternal embrace in Christ our Lord.

From the Vatican, 25 March 2025

FRANCIS

[00408-EN.01] [Original text: English]

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