Ernest Simoni

His Eminence Ernest Simoni
Cardinal-Deacon of Santa Maria della Scala
Church	Catholic Church (Latin Church)
Appointed	19 November 2016
Installed	11 February 2017
Predecessor	Stanisław Nagy
Orders
Ordination	7 April 1956
Created cardinal	19 November 2016 by Pope Francis
Rank	Cardinal-Deacon
Personal details
Born	Ernest Simoni (1928-10-18) 18 October 1928 (age 96) Troshani, Albanian Kingdom
Nationality	Albanian
Denomination	Catholic Church
Motto	Albanian: Zemra jeme dotë triumfojë (My Immaculate Heart will Triumph)
Coat of arms

Styles of Ernest Simoni
Reference style	His Eminence
Spoken style	Your Eminence
Informal style	Cardinal

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. ^[1]

Life

Ernest Simoni was born in 1928 in Troshani in the Albanian Kingdom. ^[2]

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. ^[3] 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. ^[4]

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. ^[5]

On 9 October 2016, ^[6] Pope Francis announced that he would create Simoni a cardinal in the consistory held on 19 November of the same year. ^[7] 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. ^[8]

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. ^[9]

Honors

In 2017, he received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement presented at an awards ceremony in London. ^{[10] [11]}

References

1. "Il Papa annuncia un concistoro per il 19 novembre" (in Italian). La Stampa. 9 October 2016. Retrieved 9 October 2016.
2. "SIMONI Card. Ernest". press.vatican.va. Retrieved 4 February 2024.
3. Koleka, Benet (2016). "Lifetime of privation made Albanian priest a Catholic cardinal". Reuters. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
4. Glatz, Carol (11 October 2016). "This priest's story of persecution brought Pope Francis to tears. Now he's making him a cardinal". America . Catholic News Service. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
5. "Paoline Ufficio Stampa – Don Ernest Simoni". paoline.it. 9 October 2016. Archived from the original on 9 May 2020. Retrieved 9 October 2016.
6. "Mgr Ernest Simoni, simple curé nommé cardinal albanais". lalibre.be. 21 November 2016. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
7. "Da sacerdote a cardinale: ecco chi è Ernest Simoni, uno dei 17 nuovi porporati voluti dal Papa" (in Italian). ilsole24ore.com. 9 October 2016. Retrieved 9 October 2016.
8. Cardinale, Gianni (27 November 2020). "Ecco i nuovi cardinali: nomi, storie, numeri e novità" (in Italian). Retrieved 28 March 2021.
9. "Don Ernest Simoni all'ospedale San Giovanni". Diocese of Rome. 25 March 2019. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
10. "Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement". www.achievement.org. American Academy of Achievement.
11. "2017 Summit Highlights Photo". 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.

Additional sources

• "Albania's new cardinal: a priest who spent 28 years in labour camps". Catholic Herald. Associated Press. 10 October 2016. Retrieved 2 July 2017.

External links

• Quotations related to Ernest Simoni at Wikiquote
• Media related to Ernest Simoni at Wikimedia Commons
• "Simoni Card. Ernest". Holy See Press Office. Archived from the original on 4 September 2017. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
• Glatz, Carol (11 October 2016). "This priest's story of persecution brought Pope Francis to tears. Now he's making him a cardinal". America. Catholic News Service. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
• Speech delivered in September 2014 during the visit of Pope Francis to Albania, Rome Reports, 17 November 2016

Catholic Church titles
Preceded by Stanislaw Nagy	Cardinal Deacon of Santa Maria della Scala 19 November 2016– present	Succeeded by incumbent