In the Maliqi marsh, Pope Josif Mihali (Papamihali), was buried alive; Catholic cleric of the Byzantine rite, martyr of the Church. He was born in Elbasan, in 1912. He completed his studies at the “Benedict XI” seminary in Grotaferrata (Italy); he studied philosophy and theology at the Seminary of St. Athanasius in Rome, where he was ordained on December 1, 1935. A year later, he returned to Albania and was appointed parish priest of the Church of St. Peter in Elbasan. He was arrested in 1945, and sent to Korçë with forced labor. Exhausted from fatigue, since he could no longer work, he was buried alive in the Maliq marsh. He was declared a martyr of the Church by Pope Francis in April 2016. (In the photo: Pope Josif Mihali)
Text: Encyclopedic dictionary of victims of communist terror – Vol. V , “West Print“, Institute for the Study of Crimes and Consequences of Communism, Tirana, 2016, page 343.
Graphic processing: AHCF
