:Ernest Simoni
{{Short description|Albanian Catholic cardinal (b. 1928)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2016}}
{{Infobox Christian leader
| type = Cardinal
| honorific-prefix = His Eminence
| name = Ernest Simoni
| honorific-suffix =
| native_name =
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| title = Cardinal-Deacon of Santa Maria della Scala
| image = Ernest Simoni.jpg
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| alt = Cardinal Ernest Simoni in 2016.
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| church = Catholic Church (Latin Church)
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| elected =
| appointed = 19 November 2016
| enthroned = 11 February 2017
| term =
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| predecessor = Stanisław Nagy
| opposed =
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| other_post =
| ordination = 7 April 1956
| ordinated_by =
| consecration =
| consecrated_by =
| cardinal = 19 November 2016
| created_cardinal_by = Pope Francis
| rank = Cardinal-Deacon
| birth_name = Ernest Simoni
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1928|10|18}}
| birth_place = Troshani, Albanian Kingdom
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| nationality = Albanian
| religion = Catholic Church
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| motto = {{langx|sq|Zemra jeme dotë triumfojë}} (My Immaculate Heart will Triumph)
| signature =
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| coat_of_arms = Coat of arms of Ernest Simoni.svg
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}}
{{Infobox cardinal styles
|name = Ernest Simoni
|image = Coat of arms of Ernest Simoni.svg
|image_size = 200px
|dipstyle = His Eminence
|offstyle = Your Eminence
|relstyle = Cardinal
|deathstyle =
}}
Ernest Simoni Troshani (born 18 October 1928) is an Albanian Catholic prelate known for surviving persecution under the Albanian communist regime. He was created a cardinal by Pope Francis in a consistory held on 19 November 2016.{{cite web |url=http://www.lastampa.it/2016/10/09/vaticaninsider/ita/vaticano/concistoro-yGa7TbGH2tobKqN9sVRJsO/pagina.html |title=Il Papa annuncia un concistoro per il 19 novembre |publisher=La Stampa | language =it | date= 9 October 2016 |access-date=9 October 2016}}
Life
Ernest Simoni was born in 1928 in Troshani in the Albanian Kingdom.{{cite web |title=SIMONI Card. Ernest |url=https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/documentation/cardinali_biografie/cardinali_bio_simoni_e.html |website=press.vatican.va |access-date=4 February 2024}}
On 24 December 1963, he was imprisoned by the Communist authorities after offering a Mass for the repose of assassinated President John Fitzgerald Kennedy. Ernest Simoni was tortured and even offered marriage to leave his faith.{{cite news |last1=Koleka |first1=Benet |title=Lifetime of privation made Albanian priest a Catholic cardinal |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-albania-cardinal-simoni-idUSKCN12Q1VW |access-date=15 May 2023 |publisher=Reuters |date=2016}} He was sentenced to death, but the sentence was converted into a prison term and he spent 28 years at penal labour, first in a mine and then in a sewage canal.{{cite news | url = https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2016/10/11/priests-story-persecution-brought-pope-francis-tears-now-hes-making-him-cardinal | access-date = 3 September 2017 | work = America | date= 11 October 2016 | title = This priest's story of persecution brought Pope Francis to tears. Now he's making him a cardinal | agency= Catholic News Service | first = Carol | last=Glatz}}
On 21 September 2014, he met Pope Francis during his apostolic visit to Albania and provided the pope with his own testimony on his experiences under the Communist regime.{{cite web |url=http://www.paoline.it/press/comunicati-stampa/960-don-ernest-simoni-muolo.html |title=Paoline Ufficio Stampa – Don Ernest Simoni |publisher=paoline.it |date=9 October 2016 |access-date=9 October 2016 |archive-date=9 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200509022705/https://www.paoline.it/press/comunicati-stampa/960-don-ernest-simoni-muolo.html |url-status=dead }}
On 9 October 2016,{{cite web |url=http://www.lalibre.be/debats/personnalite/mgr-ernest-simoni-simple-cure-nomme-cardinal-albanais-5831ec02cd70735194a504ce |title=Mgr Ernest Simoni, simple curé nommé cardinal albanais |publisher=lalibre.be | date= 21 November 2016 |access-date=22 November 2016}} Pope Francis announced that he would create Simoni a cardinal in the consistory held on 19 November of the same year.{{cite web | language = it |url=http://www.ilsole24ore.com/art/notizie/2016-10-09/il-papa-celebra-piazza-san-pietro-giubileo-mariano--110751.shtml |title=Da sacerdote a cardinale: ecco chi è Ernest Simoni, uno dei 17 nuovi porporati voluti dal Papa |publisher=ilsole24ore.com | date= 9 October 2016 |access-date=9 October 2016}} Canon 351 of the Code of Canon Law requires that all cardinals must be bishops, but Simoni was given a papal dispensation from the requirement of episcopal consecration.{{cite web|first1=Gianni|last1=Cardinale|url=https://www.avvenire.it/chiesa/pagine/concistoro-nuovi-cardinali-28-11-2020|title=Ecco i nuovi cardinali: nomi, storie, numeri e novità|date=November 27, 2020|access-date=March 28, 2021|language=Italian}}
At the consistory, he was assigned the titular church, becoming Cardinal-Deacon of Santa Maria della Scala. As of 2019, he had not yet received episcopal consecration.{{cite web|url=https://www.diocesidiroma.it/don-ernest-simoni-allospedale-san-giovanni/|title=Don Ernest Simoni all'ospedale San Giovanni|date=March 25, 2019|access-date=March 28, 2021|website=Diocese of Rome}}
Honors
In 2017, he received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement presented at an awards ceremony in London.{{cite web|title= Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement |website=www.achievement.org|publisher=American Academy of Achievement|url= https://achievement.org/our-history/golden-plate-awards/#public-service}}{{cite news |title=2017 Summit Highlights Photo | url= https://achievement.org/summit/2017/|quote= Two members of the Class of 2017: fashion designer Valentino Garavani, the “Living Martyr” of Albania, Cardinal Ernest Simoni, with the Academy’s 52nd annual International Achievement Summit Host, Catherine B. Reynolds.}}
References
{{Reflist}}
;Additional sources
- {{cite news | url = http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/news/2016/10/10/albanias-new-cardinal-a-priest-who-spent-28-years-in-labour-camps/ | work = Catholic Herald | access-date = 2 July 2017 | date = 10 October 2016| title =Albania's new cardinal: a priest who spent 28 years in labour camps | agency = Associated Press }}
External links
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- {{cite web| access-date = 24 October 2017| title= Simoni Card. Ernest |publisher= Holy See Press Office | url = https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/documentation/cardinali_biografie/cardinali_bio_simoni_e.html | url-status=live | archive-date= 4 September 2017 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170904070458/https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/documentation/cardinali_biografie/cardinali_bio_simoni_e.html }}
- {{cite news | url = https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2016/10/11/priests-story-persecution-brought-pope-francis-tears-now-hes-making-him-cardinal | work = America | access-date = 24 October 2017 | date= 11 October 2016 | title= This priest's story of persecution brought Pope Francis to tears. Now he's making him a cardinal. | first = Carol | last = Glatz | agency = Catholic News Service}}
- [http://www.romereports.com/2016/11/18/the-story-of-the-albanian-martyr-priest-who-will-be-made-a-cardinal-by-pope-francis Speech delivered in September 2014 during the visit of Pope Francis to Albania], Rome Reports, 17 November 2016
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{{succession box| before=Stanislaw Nagy |title=Cardinal Deacon of Santa Maria della Scala |years=19 November 2016– present| after=incumbent}}
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{{Authority control}}
{{Cardinals of the Catholic Church|state=collapsed}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Simoni, Ernest}}
Category:20th-century Albanian Roman Catholic priests
Category:21st-century Albanian Roman Catholic priests