Father Kacorri’s remains returned to Albania

TIRANA, Feb. 14 – The remains of one of Albania’s most prominent figures, father Nikolle Kacorri, have been brought back to Albania 94th years after his death to be buried in the St. Lucia Cathedral in the coastal city of Durres. A catholic priest, Dom Nikolle Kacorri is also remembered as a prominent activist of the Albanian national renaissance movement. He was one of the signatories of the Albanian independence declaration in 1912 and the deputy Prime Minister of the first Albanian government headed by Ismail Qemali.
The return of his remains from Vienna, where he died in May 1917 at the age of 55 after suffering from an incurable disease, was made possible by the Albanian catholic mission in Austria.
His bones were found only recently after months of intensive search in Vienna cemeteries wrapped in an undamaged Albanian flag, says Pjeter Logoreci of the Albanian catholic mission in Vienna.
Senior Catholic Church officials and Albanian politicians took part in the mass held last Sunday in honour of the late father.
“Dom Nikolled Kacorri was a great man born in Albania. He was aware of Albania’s future, and was very patriotic and religious,” Durres bishop Damian Kurti told reporters.
Before being repatriated to Albania, a ceremony was also held in Vienna on Feb. 6 to honour Kacorri.
Born in 1862 in Lure, northeastern Albania, Kacorri became a Catholic priest in 1878. In 1902 he became the Archbishop of Durr쳬 where he served until the Albanian Declaration of Independence. He was also a participant in the Congress of Manastir in 1908, which decided on the current Albanian Latin alphabet.