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Ernest Simoni
Albanian Catholic cardinal (b. 1928) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Ernest Simoni Troshani (born 18 October 1928) is an Albanian Catholic prelate known for surviving persecution under the Albanian communist regime. He was created a cardinal by Pope Francis in a consistory held on 19 November 2016.[1]
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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, becoming Cardinal-Deacon of Santa Maria della Scala. As of 2019, he had not yet received episcopal consecration.[9]
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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
External links
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