Leaving for the USA in the 90s/ His Beatitude: I was determined that one day I would return to my country again

2025-10-22 23:03:00, Aktualitet CNA

Leaving for the USA in the 90s/ His Beatitude: I was determined that one day I

Archbishop Joan, in a different account of his life, told of the period when he emigrated to Italy and from there to the United States of America together with Petro Zheji and a cousin of his.

His Beatitude revealed in an interview for "Opinion" with journalist Blendi Fevziu that for the first time in the USA, he went to Florida where he came into contact with the Albanian archdiocese. He revealed that they had sponsored him for his studies with scholarships.

The Archbishop confesses that even though he had gone there, he was convinced that the moment the Church was opened and functioning in Albania, he would return to his birthplace. He said that after Florida, he moved to Boston, where he completed his theological studies, which lasted 4 years.

His Beatitude also shared details about his life at that time in America and his return to Albania, where he said that the church at that time needed a priest.

"In the 90s we left. It was me, Petro Zheji and a cousin of Petro Zheji. He was sentenced to 17 years in prison. He was for an escape attempt. They were released then, and we went first to Italy. From Italy, then to America. Initially, I was in Florida. There I got in touch with the Albanian archdiocese, who also sponsored me for studies, for scholarships. They didn't have a bishop, but there was Father Arturi, their chancellor. But I told them this, that if a church opens in Albania, that will function, I will return, I told them. But they said with the mind that, well, whoever will return, they say, come to America, they won't return.

I moved to Boston to study theology. That whole period lasted four years. Yes, I did it intermittently. I came here in '93, then I went back. Yes, from '90 to '93. The first part. Then I went back for studies after, '95 and '96. What I noticed in America, at least before, in the '90s, that even now America has changed. In America, people seem to me to be more courageous. Yes was yes, no was no. For example, in Italy, as well as here in our country, sometimes it means neither yes nor no.

From one office to another, no we don't have that, we don't have that there. There, people were more enlightened. They weren't better than us, as people. Yes, they are more enlightened. For example, and they are more direct in communicating. I am grateful for those years that I was there. And although they offered me some things to stay there, I was not tempted to go back. They didn't like it when I left, but I was, fair with them, I told them from the beginning that I was leaving. The reason I decided was this. I thought that in the United States, one more priest, one less will be the same. America didn't need me much. In Albania at that time there was a need.

Everything was almost destroyed. The call to become a cleric will not come, because God will come to tell us to become a cleric tomorrow. When you see a need, it means you have a calling. If you see someone on the street who is starving, what need do you have for a calling? You have to help them, give them something. That is the calling. And here there was a very great need. Returning to your country is not even a mission, it is a duty, it is a duty that you have for your country. It raised you, it helped you, you were born there, so you have a duty ," His Beatitude expressed. /CNA