LIFE OF THE CONGREGATION
This article on the SCJ presence in Albania was written by two of our brethren who have been working in that country for approximately ten years. We are publishing it now, after the invasion of Kosovar refugees threw that country into confusion, and after having received the news of the sudden death of Fr. Bulmetti (April 4, 1999), who had dedicated the last weeks of his life entirely to the Kosovar refugees. He was born in Portocannone, an Albanian village in Molise. He was ordained a priest in 1968 and lived for some years as a missionary in Mozambique. When this mission was hindered by the advent of communism he moved to the mission in Madagascar. A short time later he had to leave because of illness and he returned to Italy. As soon as the frontiers of Albania opened, thanks to the fall of communism, Fr. Michele asked to explore the land of his ancestors; he stayed there, tireless apostle, from 1991 until 1999 when asthma forced him to return to the house of our communal Father. Numerous people, attended his funeral, some coming from distant places; there were Catholics and Muslims, authorities and ordinary people, the generous sisters who had collaborated with him, and the Kosovars whom he had received in his home and in the church which he himself built for the Lord. When he had come face to face with so many people who lived in poverty and were crushed with grief he was convinced that the best way to utilize the church he had built was to put it in the service of charity.
A few days before his death one of the young brethren from the community in Rome, Fr. Stefan Tretünte, had a telephone conversation with him and tried to find out if Fr. Bulmetti could receive three or four brethren who wanted to do a month of voluntary work for the refugees. On that occasion, to the question if his region was suffering greatly because of the effects of the war, Fr. Bulmetti replied: "Of course. More than 1000 Kosovar refugees have found sanctuary in our parishes. We are 30km from the frontier with Montenegro, and every day more and more refugees arrive from there. There is a refugee camp where 5000 Kosovars are living only a few kilometers from us. The refugees are mostly Muslims and they always associate three things together: Milosevic - the Cross - Christians! They come to us with this mentality... And then? And then things happen that I would have never expected to see: a Muslim from Kosovo - from a group known to be fanatics - accepted the visit and the help of a Catholic priest. I would never have imagined it. Even in this tragedy there is a possibility. I am convinced that these Kosovars, after having experienced the solidarity of Christians who ask absolutely nothing for the aid they give, will have another image of what it means to be Christian when they go back to their country. Basically this catastrophe drives us and helps us to encounter each other simply, like brothers".
Only 6 days after this telephone call Fr. Michele Bulmetti returned to God's bosom. We trust that from up there he will wish to be even more active in these hopes (Editor's Note).
* * * * *
Albania is a small state, robbed from Macedonia and from Kosovo, it now does not even cover 30,000 square km. It has a young population of barely 3.5 million inhabitants. It is the only European state with a Muslim majority, estimated to be about 70%, while the remaining 17% and 13% are respectively Orthodox and Catholics. A bridge between the east and the west, it has always been crossed and conquered by invading armies.
It has been under Turkish-Muslim dominion since 1479; in 1912, although remaining under their power, it acquired a certain autonomy. Almost immediately it was invaded by the armies of the First and Second World War. At the end of World War Two the most terrible of communist regimes came to power: taking away every liberty, destroying the churches, killing the priests. In 1967 it reached the height of terror and was the only nation in the world to declare itself without God. The dictatorship held out until 1991 when, with the predominant contribution of the Catholics, the revolution began which was to lead these people to freedom.
The dictatorship built 800,000 bunkers and, setting up a regime of terror and suspicion - there was an informer in every house - it robbed the people of hope and of the desire to build their future. The Christians took refuge in the inaccessible villages in the mountains of the north. They kept their faith but they lived by the traditions sanctioned in a 15th century book which is still used as their text: the CANONS.
The Story of Gürez
In 1991, because of the courage of one of our brethren, Fr. Michele Bulmetti, who spoke Arberesh (an Albanian dialect), also the adventure of the Priests of the Sacred Heart in Albania began. Fr. Michele was one of the first priests to set foot in Albania once again. In June of 1994 he was joined by Fr. Mario Bosio.
It was with great care that Fr. Michele chose a place of deep Christian traditions in which to set up the work of the Lord. The earth was wet with the blood of many martyrs, among whom was the priest Don Stefano Curtis. After the communists had killed the priests they razed the church and the Catholic school to the ground. Fr. Michele, with great courage and enormous personal sacrifices, partly because of his bad health, wanted to make it so that both the church and hope would rise once again, and he succeeded.
The place is called Gürez and it is set on the plane to the north of Durazzo and Tirana. It covers an area of about 140 square km. and includes six villages. It has a population estimated at between 10,000 to 12,000 inhabitants, of which 90% are Catholics.
Having been given almost three hectares of land, with the encouragement of our Provincial community in South Italy, the help of many good people, the enthusiasm of our students from Andria and Bologna, and the constructive presence of voluntary workers, Fr. Michele laid the foundations for a great work. The church is in the center, to the left there is the house of the wonderful Brazilian Sisters with their out-patient clinic, nursery school, department for the reception of voluntary workers and space for the formation of young people. On the right there is the chapel, several rooms for catechesis, the parish offices, the house for the religious brothers and for our seminarians, the storerooms and whatever space is necessary for receiving groups.
The house is currently inhabited by the sisters and by the fathers. It does not yet have everything that is necessary, but it has the essentials needed for living there with dignity. With the work of our hands and the help of the volunteers and the students from Bologna we have installed the hydraulic and electric systems, thus saving a large amount of money on the cost. They are now putting the roof on the church, a gift from the IM Province, and, at last, the larger tasks will be finished.
We still have to do the exterior and interior plastering of the church and of the outside of the house. We also need to concentrate on the completion of the enclosing wall towards the road and on the closing of the church tower which, for the moment, has only its external structure in reinforced concrete. We will also need some furnishings for the church and for the house, and there is an urgent necessary to dig a well in order to have drinking water.
The house of the fathers was funded with the money which came from the IM Province. The church, on the other hand, had several benefactors, and, lastly, our Province is paying for the roof.
The house of the sisters, on the other hand, is being financed by their Institute, while the out-patient clinic and the nursery school, thanks to the action of Fr. Michele, receive aid from various dioceses. To help with the church a generous contribution of approximately 50 million came from the A.C. of Ancona, to whom we give many many grateful thanks.
The Story of the Seminary of Scutari
Our presence in Scutari began on September 17,1994 with the definitive sending of Fr. Mario Bosio to Albania; it started out of necessity but I believe it also started because of an active grace from the Lord.
Three young men asked to be accepted into our seminary; the only seminary in Albania is in Scutari. The public schools do not offer guarantees either for studies or for religious formation and, apart from Gurez, there is not yet another place where these young people can be received. They decided reluctantly on Scutari and went into rented rooms with a good family. In the seminary there is barely room for them to study, there is no room to live there and so all of the religious Institutes have to find a home for them to stay. They start in extreme poverty, but with great courage. They do not lack bread, but they lack light, often 24 hours a day. The winter is hard, there is no heating, they suffer greatly from cold and loneliness. Living is reduced to the essentials. At times one tries, with strength from the Lord, to just survive and persevere. Our worst moment was when a seminarian disappeared without letting us know anything; we know now that he ran away to Italy. We were also once given a warning, a pistol was fired at our car, but we have continued to hope and to struggle and, with the grace of the Lord, we have succeeded.
Other young people knock on our door asking to enter the seminary; the house we were living in was no longer sufficient and it was necessary to find another one. After a long period of searching we found one which seemed suitable and, with the encouragement of the Father Provincial and the money from the Province, we bought it.
We started the second year with six seminarians. Fr. Michele lived in Gurez and was also responsible for the parish of Milot; I live in Scutari but on Sundays I set off early with some seminarians and go to help him... The distance between Scutari and Gurez is 80 kilometers and on Albanian roads the trip takes almost two hours. Some other seminarians stay in Scutari and look after the situation there on their own. Fr. Michele comes to Scutari nearly every week and it is always a joyous occasion. During the week some of the sisters and I go up to the villages in the mountains to teach catechism: there are several young people in these villages who are preparing to enter our seminary.
We are now in our third year and there are ten seminarians. One, after a year's preparatory course, is in his first year of a two year course in philosophy. Another is in his fourth year and is preparing for his finals. Two are in their third year, two are in their second year and four are in their first year.
The house for receiving them is small and we have had to make some alterations to make another room. Also, from a woodshed and a storeroom we have been able to make a chapel. This year we have a woman who comes for a few hours in the morning five days a week. We do all the rest of the work by ourselves, both the cooking and cleaning as well as the maintenance of the house. The times of daily prayer for the seminarians are as follows: in the morning there is the Angelus, the act of oblation, prayer for our superiors, lauds and meditation; in the afternoon, at 6:00pm, there is the Holy Mass with catechisis, followed by adoration of the Holy Sacrament and benediction; in the evening the Holy Rosary.
From the economic point of view: for food, clothing, management of the house and the taxes which have to be paid for the school, we have asked nothing from the Province. It is only very recently that we have made a small request for extra ordinary expenditures. We have kept ourselves with the offerings received directly from our benefactors. Indeed, we have given a conspicuous sum to the Church of Gurez for the purchase of the windows.
The Near Future for Gürez
The parish of Gurez is currently in good condition. It has enough buildings, the Brazilian Sisters work well, catechesis is organized and there are two choir schools. We frequently receive scouts, committed groups and volunteer workers. It will be even better when the church, the parish halls and the nursery schools start functioning. However, the parish includes five other villages. In one village they are starting to build a chapel and a room for catechesis; the community of Osa and the Caritas of Andria contributed to the first expenses through Don Simone who gave five million: we really feel we should thank them publicly. In the village of Adriatik - our Africa - we are reorganizing an old building to adapt it as a house for the sisters, an out-patient clinic and a chapel. The scouts are contributing to this work. There are three other villages which still have a great deal to be done and some plan must be studied.
The Near Future for Scutari
The Scutari house will be able to receive four or five more seminarians, but no more than that. For the moment it is performing an excellent service in a strategic point: near to the railway station and not far from the seminary. We want to dream about the future... if we had more seminarians! Looking ahead it seems that we might prudently suggest the following: we could buy a piece of land near to what we already have (our land is only 810 square meters including the house), if it is for sale, since we will need other living space for studying, sleeping and for recreation. Or maybe we could buy it in a different place, always in a suitable location: 2,500-3,000 square meters of land which could subsequently become the main site of our seminary. This could be done now, in a year's time it will certainly be too late.
Another Problem
Since the seminary is at Scutari, and will remain there because the Christians live in the north, in the mountains and in Scutari, how are we to educate our seminarians to the ministry? On Sunday we will send someone to Gurez, we have already organized the Catechesis there...and what about the others? It would be good if they had something to do during the week also. And would it not be a good thing for the priests who look after the seminarians to have a territory in which they perform their apostolate and meet the poor... without further demands on the Province?
After a long reflection we have found the right location and we are currently working there in collaboration with the priest who is the secretary of the Archbishop.
The land is in the surroundings of Scutari, at a distance of from 12 to 24 kilometers; this area includes four villages, spreading out between the lake and the land going up to the mountains. We have been going there for some time now, hope is growing once again and the Archbishop is extremely delighted. This is also a way of spreading our charism, of making ourselves known and, if God wills, of finding other vocations. If we continue to cultivate only our own little allotment, we shall always remain illustrious unknowns.
We hope that in the near future we will have another permanent brother here to form a true community which will give guarantees for the future of this little area of land, a place in which we will be in conformity with the Gospel and with the most beautiful pages of our Rule of Life, which favors the option for the lowest.
Fr. Civerra came to us in Albania for two months and, to give us a chance to come to Italy, he is still here; it was a great act of courage and love, and we would like to thank him. It would be a great gift from the Lord if we had more of this sort of thing happen, especially by brethren but also by voluntary workers. We dare to hope for it and also to ask for it.
Another thing which seems important to us is involving the committed groups, parishes, associations and villages, so that they can kind of twin up with each other for small projects: the construction of a out-patient clinic, the digging of wells, and the building of small churches or chapels in the various Christian villages on the plain and in the mountains. This is a way of actively participating in the various humanitarian projects. In two years the Muslims have built thousands of mosques, we would like to build a few chapels in order to instruct the Christians before it is too late.
Conclusion
We want to continue dreaming, but always with our feet on the ground. For Albania this is the hour of God, and the people wait for a salvation other than that of fleeing from their homeland. We must make our commitment now, while something can still be done. We, like the people, are not naive and we wonder what the future will bring... The past could return, stealing everything from us and threatening everything, our lives included...but is not the future in the hands of God? Strong with this faith and deep-rooted in hope, we go ahead scattering the seed without knowing who will sow it. We are part of the story of this country and we cannot remain indifferent: disappointing and betraying the love of God and the hopes and expectations of the poor.