98-year-old Albanian Cardinal Ernest Simoni in Medjugorje: A martyr of communism climbed Apparition Hill and performed an exorcism in the church
Albanian Cardinal Ernest Simoni, a priest who endured decades of severe persecution under the communist regime in Albania, visited Medjugorje in the days leading up to the 45th anniversary of the first apparitions. His arrival, his climb up Apparition Hill, and his witness of faith deeply moved many pilgrims.
On June 23, Cardinal Simoni, who is of advanced age, climbed Apparition Hill. He walked part of the way on foot, while on the more difficult sections he was carried on a stretcher by young people from Cenacolo. During the climb, he blessed those present, and in front of Our Lady’s statue he prayed the Rosary and blessed water, which he then sprinkled over the gathered faithful.
It was a scene that many experienced as a powerful witness of humility, perseverance, and faith — the witness of a man who, for the sake of Christ, passed through the darkness of prison, persecution, and suffering, yet remained faithful to his priestly vocation.
A priest who survived communist persecution
Ernest Simoni was born in 1928 in the village of Troshani in northern Albania. As a young boy, he began his journey toward the priesthood within the Franciscan order. However, his life was marked by the brutal persecution of the Church under the communist regime of Enver Hoxha.
The Franciscan monastery where he was staying in 1948 was looted by members of the regime. The friars were executed, and the novices were expelled. Despite everything, Simoni continued his theological studies in secret and was secretly ordained a priest in 1956.
In 1963, after celebrating Christmas Mass, he was arrested and imprisoned. He spent 28 years in prison, facing solitary confinement, forced labor, torture, and the constant threat of death. Yet even in such circumstances, he never stopped being a priest.
He later testified that while in captivity he celebrated Holy Mass every day from memory, in Latin, and secretly heard confessions and distributed Holy Communion. He made hosts in hiding, using a burner or dry wood, while he replaced the wine with grapes he would crush, or with wine secretly brought to him by relatives.
He was sentenced to death twice, but the sentence was never carried out. Even in prison, he became a spiritual support for many prisoners.
The testimony that brought Pope Francis to tears
His story became widely known in 2014, when Pope Francis visited Albania. On that occasion, Ernest Simoni testified before the Holy Father, bishops, cardinals, and the faithful about the suffering he had endured because of his faith.
He recounted how, after his arrest, he was tortured and pressured to speak against the Church. But he refused. He testified that the chains were tightened around his wrists so severely that at one point his heart almost stopped beating, but, as he said, God wanted him to continue living.
After his testimony, silence filled the church. When he approached Pope Francis to kiss his hand, the Pope stood up, embraced him, kissed his hands, and remained in a long embrace with him. The moment deeply moved those present, and Pope Francis could not hold back his tears.
Shortly after that, Pope Francis appointed him a cardinal.
Mass in St. James Church and the prayer of deliverance
During his stay in Medjugorje, Cardinal Ernest Simoni presided over Holy Mass in Italian at St. James Church. After the final blessing, he began a prayer of deliverance, the well-known prayer of Pope Leo XIII in Latin.
According to the testimony of Eusebio Ciccotti, who described the event as an eyewitness, shortly after the prayer began, powerful female screams were heard from the back of the church. Then, according to his testimony, other screams were heard from another part of the church.
The faithful remained calm, and after the prayer ended, many left the church. Ciccotti writes that shortly afterward, outside the church, he saw the cardinal surrounded by a small group of people. His personal secretary told him that the cardinal was performing an exorcism.
According to the testimony, it involved one woman who was visibly exhausted, while priests, deacons, and laypeople assisting him stood beside the cardinal. Shortly afterward, at the main doors of St. James Church, another woman also began screaming, while several people held her back.
“A page of the Gospel came to life”
The author of the testimony describes how a protective circle formed outside the church around the woman, the cardinal, and those who were assisting. Cardinal Simoni, calm and unafraid, continued the prayer of deliverance in Latin.
According to Ciccotti’s account, the woman resisted strongly, screamed, and tried to break free from the hands of those holding her. The cardinal prayed calmly, then asked for holy water and sprinkled it toward her. After a prolonged prayer, the woman became calm.
The author of the testimony wrote that, in that moment, before the eyes of those present, he saw something that reminded him of the Gospel accounts of Jesus freeing the possessed. He emphasized that such events should not be approached with curiosity, but with prayer for the people who are suffering.
The strength of a man who endured prison
Cardinal Simoni’s endurance left a particularly powerful impression on the pilgrims. Despite his age, on that same day he went up Apparition Hill, prayed the Rosary, celebrated Holy Mass, took part in prayers of deliverance, and visited places important to Medjugorje spirituality, including the St. John Paul II Institute and the Cenacolo Community, founded by Sister Elvira.
Those who met him testify that during Mass, prayer, and blessings, his voice becomes strong and resolute. According to the testimony, the cardinal himself humbly said: “Call me Father; Eminence belongs only to Jesus.”
That morning, in the Radio Maria Medjugorje premises, he told those gathered: “Always pray to the Most Blessed Virgin.” Speaking about the saints, he especially mentioned Padre Pio, emphasizing that the faithful should turn to him in prayer.
Medjugorje as a place of prayer, faith, and conversion
Cardinal Ernest Simoni’s stay in Medjugorje left a powerful mark on the pilgrims. His climb up Apparition Hill, his prayer before Our Lady’s statue, his blessing of the faithful, and the witness of a priest who survived communist persecution all speak of a faith that is not extinguished by suffering, prison, or even the threat of death.
His life reminds us that the priesthood is not only a ministry of words, but a total surrender to Christ. In a prison cell, in secretly celebrated Masses, in suffering, forgiveness, and tireless prayer, Cardinal Simoni remained faithful to God and to the Church.
In Medjugorje, that witness once again came before the eyes of the faithful: an elderly man, frail in years but strong in faith, climbing toward Apparition Hill, praying the Rosary, blessing the people, and testifying that Christ is stronger than every persecution, darkness, and evil.
