Ernest_Simoni

Ernest Simoni

Ernest Simoni

Albanian Catholic cardinal (b. 1928)

Ernest Simoni Troshani (born 18 October 1928) is an Albanian cardinal of the Catholic Church.

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He was created a cardinal in a consistory held on 19 November 2016 by Pope Francis.[1]

Life

Ernest Simoni was born in 1928 in Troshani in the Albanian Kingdom.[2]

On 24 December 1963, he was imprisoned by the Communist authorities after offering a Mass for the repose of assassinated President John Fitzgerald Kennedy. Ernest Simoni was tortured and even offered marriage to leave his faith.[3] He was sentenced to death, but the sentence was converted into a prison term and he spent 28 years at penal labour, first in a mine and then in a sewage canal.[4]

On 21 September 2014, he met Pope Francis during his apostolic visit to Albania and provided the pope with his own testimony on his experiences under the Communist regime.[5]

On 9 October 2016,[6] Pope Francis announced that he would create Simoni a cardinal in the consistory held on 19 November of the same year.[7] Canon 351 of the Code of Canon Law requires that all cardinals must be bishops, but Simoni was given a papal dispensation from the requirement of episcopal consecration.[8]

At the consistory, he was assigned the titular church of Santa Maria della Scala. As of 2019, he had not yet received episcopal consecration.[9]

Honors

In 2017, he received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement presented at an awards ceremony in London.[10][11]

References

  1. [1]
    "Il Papa annuncia un concistoro per il 19 novembre" (in Italian). La Stampa. 9 October 2016. Retrieved 9 October 2016.
  2. [2]
    "SIMONI Card. Ernest". press.vatican.va. Retrieved 4 February 2024.
  3. [3]
    Koleka, Benet (2016). "Lifetime of privation made Albanian priest a Catholic cardinal". Reuters. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  4. [4]
    Glatz, Carol (11 October 2016). "This priest's story of persecution brought Pope Francis to tears. Now he's making him a cardinal". America. Catholic News Service. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
  5. [5]
    "Paoline Ufficio Stampa – Don Ernest Simoni". paoline.it. 9 October 2016. Archived from the original on 9 May 2020. Retrieved 9 October 2016.
  6. [6]
    "Mgr Ernest Simoni, simple curé nommé cardinal albanais". lalibre.be. 21 November 2016. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  7. [7]
    "Da sacerdote a cardinale: ecco chi è Ernest Simoni, uno dei 17 nuovi porporati voluti dal Papa" (in Italian). ilsole24ore.com. 9 October 2016. Retrieved 9 October 2016.
  8. [8]
    Cardinale, Gianni (27 November 2020). "Ecco i nuovi cardinali: nomi, storie, numeri e novità" (in Italian). Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  9. [9]
    "Don Ernest Simoni all'ospedale San Giovanni". Diocese of Rome. 25 March 2019. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  10. [10]
    "Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement". www.achievement.org. American Academy of Achievement.
  11. [11]
    "2017 Summit Highlights Photo". Two members of the Class of 2017: fashion designer Valentino Garavani, the "Living Martyr" of Albania, Cardinal Ernest Simoni, with the Academy's 52nd annual International Achievement Summit Host, Catherine B. Reynolds.
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