Father Ben spent Easter in Albania, where the Church was most heavily persecuted from 1945 until 1991. He wanted to see how the Church recovered after such intense persecution. Pictured is Father Gjergj Simoni, who Father Ben had the privilege to meet on Good Friday – a “living martry” of the Albanian Church, Fr. Gjergj spent 10 years in prison for his faith, his brother, also a priest, spent 15 years in prison. Father Ben also had the privilege of spending some time with the Papal Nuncio to Albania, Archbishop Charles Brown, to learn about the revival of the Church.
Father Ben was due to be in Iraq this week, to ascertain the needs of the families we are helping, and meet with those we have been helping over the years. Unfortunately, due to the current tensions, he was advised by numerous sources not to go at this time. He hopes to be there again before the end of the Summer