Albania invites papal
visit
Apr. 26 (CWNews.com) - On an official visit to Albania this week, the
Vatican's Secretary for Relations with States met with both government and
religious leaders, and returned to Rome carrying an invitation for Pope Benedict
XVI to visit the country.
Archbishop Giovanni Lajolo was in Albania from April 22 to 25. During his
stay he met with President Alfred Moisiu, prime minister Sali Berisha, and
foreign minister Besnik Mustafaj, at whose invitation he had made the trip.
The archbishop met with members of Albania's Catholic community, presiding at
Mass in the capital city, Tirana, and in Scutari, in the north of the country.
In both cities, Archbishop Lajolo reported, the faithful "expressed several
times their desire that the Pope should visit Albania," accepting the invitation
proferred by the country's government.
Before leaving Albania, the Vatican's top foreign-policy official met with
Muslim leaders in Tirana, and with the Orthodox Archbishop Anastoasio Yannoul.
