The Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Tirana-Durrës, Arjan Dodaj took office during a ceremony held at the Cathedral of St. Paul in Tirana on Saturday.
The inauguration ceremony of Bishop Dodaj was attended by President Ilir Meta, Speaker Lindita Nikolla, Prime Minister Edi Rama, representatives of other religious communities, citizens, etc.
Pope Francis appointed Arjan Dodaj as head of the Tirana-Durres Metropolitan Archdiocese on November 30th.
In his speech, Monsignor George Frendo, who resigned from the pastoral care of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Tirana-Durres, said that “I have always loved Albania and Albanians and I have found love and respect more than I deserved in these people. I thank the Albanian people for becoming my people. I will leave Albania with regret, but it seemed right to me to spend the last years of my life in my homeland.”
Monsignor Frendo said Albanians will remain part of his heart and I will remember him with prayer. “Politics can change and improve structures, but trust can reach where politics fails, it can change hearts. Let us commit ourselves more to a fairer, more fraternal Albania.”
Monsignor Frendo addressed Dodaj, with whom he has worked closely for more than 4 years with these words: “Your name will be mentioned at Mass every day and this means that you will not be alone in carrying out your duty, it is a diocese with you. You are much younger than me and you are Albanian, which means that you are more capable than me to understand the mentality, psychology and culture of this country,” he said.
The Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Tirana-Durres, Monsignor Arjan Dodaj pledged to perform the episcopal service with dignity.
Monsignor Dodaj was ordained a priest by Pope John Paul II in the Basilica of St. Peter on May 11, 2003 and was incarnated in the Diocese of Rome, as a member of the priestly Brotherhood of the Sons of the Cross in the community “House of Mary”.
After the priestly ordination he performed various pastoral duties. From 2003 to 2004 he was deputy parish priest in the Parish of “St. Domenico Guzman”, in Rome; from 2004 to 2005, Vice Rector of the Rectorate of “San Giovanni della Malva” and Chaplain of the Albanian community in Rome; from 2005 to 2017, Deputy Parish Priest of the Parish “St. Raphael the Archangel”, in Rome.
In 2017, with the approval of his bishop, the Cardinal-Vicar of His Holiness for the Diocese of Rome, he was transferred as a priest fidei donum to the Archdiocese of Tirana-Durrës, where he performed the following pastoral duties: Vicar General, Parish Priest ” To the Immaculate Heart of Our Lady ”in Gramëz; Head of the university pastorate; Second Secretary of the Albanian Episcopal Conference and Secretary General of the Diocesan Synod. / Argumentum.al
