Rrok Kolë Mirdita (28 September 1939 – 7 December 2015) was an Albanian prelate of the Catholic Church who served as the archbishop of Tiranë-Durrës from 1993 to his death in 2015.[1]
His Excellency Rrok Kolë Mirdita | |
|---|---|
| Archbishop of Tiranë-Durrës | |
| Church | Catholic Church |
| Archdiocese | Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Tiranë-Durrës |
| Metropolis | Tiranë-Durrës |
| Diocese | Tiranë-Durrës |
| Appointed | 25 December 1992 |
| Installed | 25 April 1993 |
| Term ended | 7 December 2015 |
| Predecessor | Vinçenc Prennushi |
| Successor | George Anthony Frendo |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 2 July 1965 by Aleksandar Tokic |
| Consecration | 25 April 1993 by Pope John Paul II |
| Rank | Metropolitan Archbishop |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 28 September 1939 Klezna, Kingdom of Yugoslavia |
| Died | 7 December 2015 (aged 76) Tirana, Albania |
| Motto |
|
| Signature | .svg){kind=small} |
| Styles of Rrok Mirdita | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Reference style | The Most Reverend |
| Spoken style | Your Excellency |
| Religious style | Monsignor |
| Posthumous style | none |
Biography
editMirdita was ordained a priest on 2 July 1965, aged 25, and served in ethnic Albanian parishes in Bronx and Westchester counties of New York.
On 25 December 1992, aged 53, he was appointed the archbishop of Tiranë-Durrës and consecrated on 25 April 1993 by Pope John Paul II and cardinals Camillo Ruini and Jozef Tomko, along with three other bishops (Zef Simoni, Frano Illia and Robert Ashta) during the Pope's pastoral visit to Albania. Mirdita was the President of the Episcopal Conference of Albania, as well as the President of Caritas Albania from 1994 to 2000.[2]
On his initiative St. Paul's Cathedral was built in Tirana. Its triangular architecture, according to the Archbishop's idea, symbolizes the cohabitation of Islam, Eastern Orthodoxy and Catholicism in Albania. The first Holy Mass in the new cathedral was celebrated by Cardinal Angelo Sodano, Vatican's Secretary of State, and Archbishop Mirdita on 27 January 2002. The Archbishop's house was built next to the Eastern Orthodox cathedral and on Christmas 1999, Mirdita and the Eastern Orthodox Archbishop Anastasios (Anastas) greeted parishioners together. [citation needed] Rrok Mirdita was an Honorary Citizen of Tirana, Albania.
He died at Mother Teresa Hospital in Tirana on 7 December 2015.[1]
References
edit- ^ a b "Rrok Mirdita, me një histori të gjatë me Nju Jorkun, ka qenë simbol i unifikimit të katolikëve të Treshtetshit - New York-New Jersey-Connecticut". Bota Sot.
- ^ "Shuhet arkipeshkv Rrok Mirdita". Gazeta Shqip (in Albanian). 8 December 2015. Retrieved July 12, 2024.
External links
edit
 | This biographical article relating to Albania is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |