In 1963, Albanian Cardinal Ernest Simoni was arrested and sentenced to death by Albania's communist, officially atheist government after celebrating a Mass for the late U.S. President John F. Kennedy for the repose of his soul.
In an interview with Mark Irons of "EWTN News In Depth," the 98-year-old Simoni explained how he escaped death through remaining steadfast in faith.
Simoni was imprisoned and tortured for practicing his faith, and eventually his death sentence was commuted to forced labor. Simoni continued secretly to say daily Mass as the Communist Party tried to eradicate religion across their region.
Though many understood the risks involved, no one informed the communist authorities. Had the regime discovered what he was doing, he said, he likely would have been hanged. He credited his survival solely to God's grace.
After the Party of Labor of Albania was dissolved in 1991, Simoni was freed from manual labor under state surveillance. He doesn't speak much about torture he experienced.
"They also took me into the army…and had me march, for 16 hours marching...without eating, or drinking, I was dying," Simoni said. "Thank God, he wanted me to be saved. There it was the Hand of God that protected me."
In 2014, Pope Francis was moved by this priest's testimony and named him one of 17 international bishops and priests to the College of Cardinals in 2016. Pope Francis described him as "a living martyr."
Simoni travels across countries bringing the Gospel to all people while also speaking of his experience in communist Albania. His visit to the United States this November comes 63 years after the assassination of Kennedy in Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963.
Simoni said he holds no resentment toward those who persecuted him and his fellow Catholics. Earlier this year he returned to the prison where he was tortured and was able to celebrate Mass publicly.
"We are required to pray for every enemy, that God has mercy, to see them all in heaven, because Christ has shed his blood for us all," he said.
