ZEFI LEONARD TAGAJ - 4 FEBRUARY

Saints celebrated on the 4th of February

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ZEFI LEONARD TAGAJ, PRIEST AND MARTYR

With the beginning of the communist regime, persecution of Albanian Christians began: church schools were closed, church publishers were no longer allowed to print, and church buildings were converted. Practicing the faith (e.g. in the visible form of a sign of the cross) was punishable by imprisonment and torture.

Under the communist regime (1944-1990), almost all of the country's clerics were tortured and murdered. Often there was no charge and no verdict. If there was an accusation, it usually involved alleged non-religious reasons. In some cases a death sentence was pronounced, in others the prisoners were tortured to death, in others they were executed without a verdict. Many Christian clergy had the opportunity to escape this persecution by leaving the country, as most had studied and made contacts abroad. They chose to stay in their country with their flocks and with their communities.

Having studied at the Franciscan Seminary in Troshan, Pater Zefi Tagaj (baptised Leonard) continued his studies in Rome and Innsbruck (Austria). He was ordained a priest on July 19, 1936 and was appointed as vicar in Traboin in Hoti. He then served in Kosovo, Montenegro, and the Great Highlands. The Yugoslav communists, in alliance and friendship with the Albanian communists, started violence and mass murders against the Albanians in the former Yugoslavia. Although warned about the arrival of the communist forces, Pater Zefi refused to flee to safety, thereby deserting his flock. When the communist forces surrounded the door of the Church of St John in Hot, Pater Zefi was arrested and shot on February 4, 1945, at the age of 35.

After communism was overcome, people timidly began to publicly live the faith they had secretly taught their children again. A seminary was founded in Catholic Shkoder, and some priests came from abroad. To give strength to these beginnings, the Archbishop of Shkoder, Msgr. Angelo Massafra, initiated a beatification process for witnesses of the faith who are venerated as martyrs in Albania.

Sources:

https://www.erzbistum-koeln.de/thema/marxen/38-maertyrer/index.html -https://albemigrant2011.wordpress.com/2014/08/25/37612/ - http://www.malesia.org/tag/leonard-tagaj-pater-zefi-i-traboinit/ - https://www.kath.ch/newsd/papst-ehrt-in-albanien-maertyrer-und-predigt-dialog-der-religionen/

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