Vinçens Prennushi
Albanian Roman Catholic archbishop and blessed (1885-1949)
Feast: 20 March (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
Who they were
Kolë Prennushi was born at Shkodër, Albania, then under Ottoman rule, on 4 September 1885, and went to the Franciscan college there. He entered the Friars Minor on 12 December 1904 as Vinçenc and was ordained on 19 March 1908; he wrote many literary, political and religious works. He became Archbishop of Durrës.
He refused the dictator Enver Hoxha's demand to form a national Church loyal to the communist regime rather than to Rome. Arrested and sentenced to twenty years, he died of ill-treatment and torture in Durrës prison on 19 March 1949. He heads the list of 38 Albanian martyrs.
The miracles
As martyrs they were beatified without a miracle.
Why that counted as sanctity
An archbishop who would not separate the Albanian Church from Rome and died in prison for it.
- Dicastery for the Causes of Saints - biography: Martiri Albanesi
- Wikidata Q2527373 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Vinçenc Prennushi (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 21 September 2026. Corrections welcome.