Pope Francis | Photo by AP

Albania’s Minister of Culture, Mirela Kumbaro, on August 16 said the Pope’s forthcoming visit to Albania will generate enormous interest in the country.

“This is a big event that will bring Albania to the centre of attention of the international media,” Kumbaro told reporters.

“About 1,000 journalists are expected to cover the visit,” she added.

For nearly half-a-century, under the brutal rule of the Stalinist dictator Enver Hoxha, Albania was the most isolated country in Europe, comparable to today’s North Korea.

In 1967, Hoxha declared Albania the first atheist country in the world, launching a persecution campaign against all religions and particularly against the Catholic Church, traditionally strong in the north of the country.

Today, most Albanians are Muslim, although both the Orthodox and Catholic churches have a significant following.

Pope Francis’s one-day trip will begin with a welcoming ceremony at Tirana’s “Mother Teresa” international airport, where he will be greeted by Prime Minister Edi Rama.

From the airport, the Pope will travel to the Presidential Palace where he will pay a courtesy visit to the President, Bujar Nishani. After, he will address representatives of the civil authorities.

The high point of the voyage will be an open-air Mass in Mother Teresa Square, followed by a recitation of the Angelus.

After Mass, the Pope Francis will meet with the bishops of Albania for lunch at the Apostolic Nunciature.

In the afternoon, Pope Francis will meet leaders of other religions and other Christian denominations at the Catholic University “Our Lady of Good Counsel.”

The Holy Father will travel to the Cathedral of St Paul in the evening to celebrate Vespers with priests, religious sisters and brothers, seminarians, and members of various lay movements.

The final event on a busy schedule will be a meeting with children of the “Centro Betania,” along with representatives from other charitable institutions of Albania.