Our Lady of Good Counsel of Genazzano

07-20-2025Weekly ReflectionNelson Ribeiro Fragelli

At the borders of Europe, people awaken: Albanians return to the Church! (Edited)

It should be remembered that Albanians are direct descendants of the Illyrians, an Indo-European people evangelized in the early centuries. In his Letter to the Romans, the Apostle Paul writes: "From Jerusalem to Illyricum I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ" (Rom. 15:19). This is one of the first testimonies of the Christian presence on the European continent.

This primitive vocation has never ceased to bear fruit. It is from these lands that several Christian emperors emerged who marked the history of the Church: Constantine the Great, born a few kilometers from present-day Kosovo, in Moesia; Justinian I, protector of Christianity and builder of the Cathedral of Hagia Sophia; Theodosius I, who made Christianity the state religion. All of them were of Illyrian origin.

And the story doesn't end there. Albania gave the world one of its popes: Clement XI, born Giovanni Francesco Albani, of Albanian descent on his father's side. It also gave the world Mother Teresa of Calcutta, born in Skopje to an Albanian family, a 20th-century religious figure whose commitment to the poor was part of the post-war missionary context. But perhaps the most emblematic figure of this long-fought Christian identity remains Gjergj Kastrioti Skanderbeg, a national hero and Catholic leader who opposed the Ottoman Turkish invasion in the 15th century. Pope Callixtus III called him "Christ's champion" (Athleta Christi). Skanderbeg remains a point of reference for Albanians of all backgrounds, proving that Catholicism has survived like a fire beneath the ashes.

That fire was smoldering. Today it is reborn. According to several local observers, the return to Catholicism cannot be explained solely by historical or political considerations. It is also the result of a profound spiritual longing. Many Albanians, especially young people, discover in Christianity a sense of the human person, a hope, a moral and transcendent light that Islam has never been able to provide. It is therefore not an aggressive rejection, but a peaceful return to a faith passed down in secret, sometimes for generations. There is talk of "hidden Catholics," whose grandparents prayed in secret, baptized their children clandestinely, celebrated Christmas without lights but with fervor. Today, these traditions are emerging from the shadows.

This resurgence is still a minority: Catholics officially represent only 8.38% of the population in Albania and barely 2% in Kosovo. But their vitality is evident. The Vatican itself is closely monitoring the phenomenon. Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State of the Holy See, recently praised the "vitality" of the Catholic community in Kosovo and its commitment to spreading the Gospel in an often-difficult climate. It's surprising that this phenomenon receives almost no coverage from the Western media. It's as if they were afraid of a people rediscovering their Christian roots, at a time when so many Western European nations are being emptied of their faith. That's why I take the liberty of bringing this testimony to your attention today. It's a beacon of light, a seed of hope. Because if a people like the Albanians—wounded by history, marked by ideologies, persecuted by atheism, and forcibly Islamized—can be reborn in the Christian faith, then it's never too late for us either. Perhaps it's a discreet work of Providence.

Perhaps it is Our Lady of Good Counsel, who miraculously appeared in Genazzano in the 15th century, and whose icon mysteriously left Albania for Italy, who still protects her people. Perhaps it is Skanderbeg, the Athlete of Christ, interceding for his spiritual descendants. Or perhaps it is simply the Holy Spirit, who "blows where he wills" (John 3:8). Whatever the case, something is happening. And this something deserves our attention, our prayers, our admiration.

At a time when France and Europe seem to be sinking into religious amnesia, a forgotten people is remembering its evangelical roots. They remember Christ, King of the Church and the world. And they return to Him, not as a figure from the past, but as the true and living Sovereign, to whom every nation is called to submit—under the benevolent gaze of Our Lady of Good Counsel of Genazzano, a sign that, in silence, a renewal can already begin. (END)

Note: Our Lady of Good Counsel of Genazzano is a revered Marian title associated with a miraculous fresco of the Virgin Mary and the Christ Child, enshrined in the Basilica of Our Lady of Good Counsel in Genazzano, Italy. The fresco, originally called "Madonna of Paradise," is believed to have originated from a church in Scutari, Albania, and was miraculously transported there before the Ottoman invasion.

On the Feast of St. Mark, April 25, 1467, at the close of a festival in Genazzano, Italy, a cloud descended upon an ancient 5th-century deteriorated church, dedicated to Our Lady of Good Counsel. When the cloud disappeared, the festive crowd found a small, fragile image of the Blessed Virgin and Child on a thin sheet of plaster. The painting is said to have hung in mid-air, suspended without support, floating, on a small ledge. This particular fresco is said to date to the time of the Apostles. It had long been venerated in Albania’s capital city, Scutari.

Much of the church of Our Lady of Good Counsel was destroyed in World War II, but the image remained intact and in place. The miraculous image is still there today after more than 500 years. Countless miracles have been attributed to the prayerful intercession of Our Lady of Good Counsel.

Many pilgrims visit the church in Genazzano, and take part in the annual spring celebration, observed on April 25. Elsewhere in the world, the feast is celebrated April 26. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/our-lady-of-goodcounsel-445