Priest and Martyr (1887-1958)
His life
+ Ndoc was born in Nënshat, Lezhë, Albania. After completing his early education, he studied at the Jesuit Collect in Innsbruck, Austria.
+ Ordained a priest in 1911, the next few decades of his life were dedicated to ministry to the everyday ministry to his parishioners.
+ Following the Communist rise to power in Albania, Father Ndoc was arrested as he was saying Mass, on December 8, 1946.
+ Charged as a counterrevolutionary—while his true “crime” his priestly ministry and fidelity to the Church—he was sentenced to thirty years of hard labor.
+ Father Ndoc endured his suffering in silence, but after only a few years, his health failed and, because he was perceived as a burden to the state, he was released.
+ His health never recovered he and he died on April 22, 1958, in Shkodrë, Albania.
+ Honored as a martyr (because he died as a result of the suffering he endured in his imprisonment), Blessed Ndoc was beatified in 2016.
For prayer and reflection
“They preferred to submit to prison, torture and finally death, in order to remain faithful to Christ and to the Church. May their example help us to find in the Lord strength that supports in moments of difficulty and that inspires attitudes of goodness, forgiveness and peace.”—Pope Francis speaking of the Martyrs of Albania on November 6, 2016
Spiritual bonus
On this day, we also remember Saint Abel McAedh, a holy woman of Ireland. Unfortunately, only her name has come down to us.
Prayer
O God, who were pleased to give light to your Church by adorning blessed Ndoc with the victory of martyrdom, graciously grant that, as he imitated the Lord’s Passion, so we may, by following in his footsteps, be worthy to attain eternal joys. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.
(from The Roman Missal: Common of Martyrs—For One Martyr during the Easter Season)
Saint profiles prepared by Brother Silas Henderson, S.D.S.
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