Archbishop Frano Illia, a prominent Catholic cleric, Metropolitan Archbishop of Shkodra (1993–1997), ethnographer, and translator, passed away. He was born in the village of Juban in Shkodra in 1918. He was ordained a priest on December 18, 1943. He served in Tirana, Shkodra, Milot, and surrounding areas. In 1967, he was arrested, and on April 25, 1968, he was sentenced to death, a sentence later commuted to life imprisonment and forced labor. He was appointed Archbishop of Shkodra and consecrated by Pope John Paul II during His visit to Albania on April 25, 1993. (In the photo: Frano Illia)
Text: Encyclopedic dictionary of victims of communist terror – Vol. IV , “West Print”, Institute for the Study of Crimes and Consequences of Communism, Tirana, 2015, page 15-16.
Photo: © https://shkoder.net/imzot-frano-illia-njeriu-qe-i-kushtoi-jeten-kishes-kombit-dhe-kultures/
Graphic processing: AHCF
