Cardinal Ernest Simoni

Cardinal Ernest Simoni climbed Medjugorje’s Apparition Hill while praying the Rosary on the eve of the 44th anniversary of the first reported apparitions. The 97-year-old Albanian cardinal, described by Pope Francis as a “living martyr”, was assisted up the hill as pilgrims gathered at the Bosnian shrine Yesterday, on the eve of the 44th anniversary of the first apparitions of Medjugorje, Cardinal Ernest Simoni climbed Apparition Hill while praying the Rosary. Videos from the event show the cardinal being assisted up Apparition Hill. At points where the ground became too rough, he was carried on a stretcher by the young men accompanying him. This year marks the 97-year-old Albanian prelate’s 70th anniversary of ordination to the priesthood and the 10th anniversary of his creation as a cardinal. Described as a “living martyr” by Pope Francis, Cardinal Simoni endured decades of persecution for his priesthood. Under Albania’s communist regime, the then Fr Simoni was arrested after he celebrated a Mass for the assassinated President John F. Kennedy. He was shown a death warrant and, as he told Reuters in a 2016 interview, “I was to hang because I had told the people we should die for Christ.” His persecutors tried to force him to abandon his faith and even offered him marriage to a “beautiful girl”. He was not executed, but instead sentenced to 18 years of forced labour, 12 of which he spent in a mine, for celebrating the Mass and for agitation against the regime. While in prison, he continued to preach to fellow prisoners. Once released, he worked as a manual labourer and ministered the sacraments in secret. He is the only surviving member of the clergy of Albania’s post-war communist regime to have survived the mass persecution of the authorities. His years in prison spanned the liturgical reforms of the 1960s, so he continued to celebrate the Traditional Latin Mass as best he could from memory during his imprisonment. When he met Pope Francis during the pontiff’s 2014 visit to Albania, Francis was so struck by his story that he made him a cardinal at the 2016 consistory. His appointment required a dispensation, since he was not a bishop. He also appeared alongside Pope Leo on Easter Sunday this year and met the pontiff again during a private audience on 27 April. Despite being 97, Cardinal Simoni has remained active in maintaining links with communities attached to the Traditional Latin Mass. He is a defender of the older liturgical form and has longstanding associations with traditionalist institutes, including regular visits to the International Seminary of the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest at Gricigliano, near Florence. He has been present there for major liturgical celebrations, including the Feast of St Joseph, and has spent periods such as Holy Week with the community in recent years. During a pontifical Latin Mass for the Summorum Pontificum pilgrimage, celebrated by Cardinal Raymond Burke in St Peter’s Basilica on 25 October 2025, Cardinal Simoni recited the prayer to St Michael the Archangel, describing it as a reminder that “the Devil exists, and the Church continues to fight”.

Pope Leo received Cardinal Ernest Simoni in a private Vatican audience on April 27, marking their second meeting since Easter Sunday. The Albanian cardinal, once sentenced to death under communism, presented a relic the Albanian martyrs Pope Leo received Cardinal Ernest Simoni in a private audience at the Vatican on April 27, less than a month after their appearance together on Easter Sunday. The audience took place in the Hall of Popes and included around 40 members of the cardinal’s family. It marked the second notable encounter between the two men in recent weeks, following the Easter Sunday Urbi et Orbi blessing on April 5, when Cardinal Simoni stood alongside the cardinal protodeacon during the papal appearance from the central loggia of St Peter’s Basilica. Speaking afterwards to Vatican Media, Cardinal Simoni described the meeting in direct and emphatic terms. “All joy, all hope,” he said, describing the atmosphere of the encounter. He added: “It was an atmosphere of all joy, all hope, gazing upon the face of the Holy Father, which represents the face of Jesus, to proclaim to all men the news of Heaven, of peace, of brotherhood and of love for all the peoples of the world.” “Let us proclaim together for all the peoples of the world the peace that comes from Heaven,” Cardinal Simoni said. At the conclusion of the audience, Cardinal Simoni presented Pope Leo with a gift connected to the history of Catholic persecution in Albania. “Coming to Italy from Albania, my thoughts are with the martyrs,” he said, before offering “the cross and a relic of the Albanian martyrs who gave their lives for fidelity, for the love of Jesus, for the salvation of the Albanian people, to see all men smile upon Heaven”. A priest of the Archdiocese of Shkodra-Pult, he marked the 70th anniversary of his ordination earlier this month, on April 7, a milestone reached after a lifetime marked by persecution under Albania’s communist regime. Arrested on Christmas Eve 1963 for celebrating a Mass deemed illegal by the authorities, he was initially sentenced to death before the penalty was commuted to 25 years of forced labour. Released in 1981, he remained under suspicion and was still regarded by the regime as an “enemy of the people” until the collapse of communism in 1990 allowed him to resume public ministry. His testimony later came to wider attention during the papal visit to Albania in 2014, when Pope Francis listened to his account and referred to him as a “living martyr”. Two years later, he was created a cardinal in recognition of that witness. Despite his age, Cardinal Simoni has remained active in maintaining links with communities attached to the Traditional Latin Mass. He is a defender of the older liturgical form and has longstanding associations with traditionalist institutes, including regular visits to the International Seminary of the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest at Gricigliano, near Florence. He has been present there for major liturgical celebrations, including the Feast of St Joseph, and has spent periods such as Holy Week with the community in recent years. During a Pontifical Latin Mass for the Summorum Pontificum Pilgrimage celebrated by Cardinal Raymond Burke in St Peter’s Basilica on October 25, 2025, Cardinal Simoni recited the prayer to St Michael the Archangel, describing it as a reminder that “the Devil exists, and the Church continues to fight”. The 2025 gathering represented a significant relaxation of restrictions placed on the Summorum Pontificum Pilgrimage. Following Traditionis Custodes , it was commonly understood that no prelates were permitted to celebrate Holy Mass in the Traditional rite for the 2021 and 2022 pilgrimages. In 2023 and 2024, the Traditional Latin Mass was prohibited entirely in St Peter’s Basilica for the pilgrimage. Instead, pilgrims had to content themselves with Eucharistic Benediction and the office of Sext at St Peter’s.