Muslims and Christians throng Albania streets to greet Pope

Yahoo – AFP, Jean-Louis De La Vaissiere, 21 Sep 2014

Pope Francis gives a press conference aboard the plane carrying him to Tirana, 

on September 21, 2014 (AFP Photo/Filippo Monteforte)

Tirana (AFP) - Christians and Muslims thronged the Albanian capital Sunday to greet Pope Francis who arrived in the mainly Muslim country for a one-day visit to praise it as a model of religious harmony.

The pontiff's plane landed at Tirana's Mother Teresa airport at 0700 GMT, where Prime Minister Edi Rama welcomed Francis for his first European visit outside of Italy.

Portraits of Catholic priests, nuns and monks 

persecuted during the Communist period 

are displayed on a main street of Tirana

 on September 19, 2014 (AFP Photo/

Armend Nimani)

"Albania is a country that has suffered so much," the pope told journalists on his flight from Rome. "But it has managed to find peace between its different religions, which is a good sign for the world."

The packed 11-hour trip comes at a sensitive time amid turmoil in the Middle East and rising intolerance in Europe.

Authorities stepped up security to its highest level across the Balkan country after warnings from Iraq that Islamic State jihadists could be planning an attack on the Catholic leader.

Tens of thousands of Albanians -- many of them Muslim and Orthodox -- had already gathered in Mother Teresa square in central Tirana where the pope will later celebrate Mass. Some waved welcoming banners while others chanted: "Papa Francesco! Papa Francesco!"

Yellow-and-white Vatican flags flew alongside Albanian ones in the main streets of the capital while vast portraits of Catholic priests and nuns persecuted under communism -- when Albania became the world's first atheist state -- were strung across roads.

"The Catholic Church in Albania is a martyr church and with the visit of Pope Francis it will be known throughout the world," said Aida Agustini, 51, one of the faithful waiting in the square.

Vatican and Albanian flags decorate the main

 entrance to Tirana, on September 20, 2014 

(AFP Photo/Gent Shkullaku)

Beside her Muslim Hysen Doli, 85, who had come to the square with 10 members of his family, said, "We belong to another religion but have come here out of respect to get the pope's blessing."

Francis had said he chose to visit the impoverished country for his first European trip outside Italy because of the example it set of religious co-existence.

While the Vatican earlier this year voiced support for US air strikes in Iraq to defend persecuted Christians, Francis has made dialogue between religions a cornerstone of his papacy.

'We can all work together!'

In August, Francis said that his presence in Albania "will be a way of saying to everyone, 'See, we can all work together!'"

He will later have meeting with the heads of the country's other religious communities including Muslim, Orthodox, Bektashi, Jewish and Protestant leaders.

The leader of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics also wants to honour those who suffered under former communist dictator Enver Hoxha, during whose rule priests and imams were persecuted and many churches and mosques razed.

Between 1945 and 1985, 111 priests, 10 seminarians and seven bishops died in detention or were executed.

Nuns walk on September 20, 2014 on

Tirana'’s main boulevard adorned with 

portraits of Catholic clerics killed or

persecuted by the Communist Regime

(AFP Photo/Gent Shkullaku)

Nearly 2,000 Orthodox and Catholic churches were destroyed or transformed into cinemas, theatres and dance halls, according to Francis, who said the successful rebirth of the Catholic faith after such persecution made Albania a place where "I felt like I should go".

The revival of Catholicism is due in part to the popularity of Mother Teresa, an ethnic Albanian born in neighbouring Macedonia. Yet only about 15 percent of the population are Catholic, with Muslims in the majority with 56 percent, and the Orthodox making up 11 percent.

In a country with one of the youngest populations in Europe, the Vatican will be hoping to tap into a source for converts in a continent gripped by secularism.

The 77-year-old pontiff will also meet Albanian President Bujar Nishani and visit orphans during the trip.

It is the second papal visit to Albania. Pope John Paul II travelled there the year after the collapse of its communism regime in 1992.

During that visit he paid tribute to "martyrs of the faith" and created four new bishops, including Michel Koliqi -- then 91 years old -- who had spent 21 years in detention.

Heightened security

The country of three million will likely be looking for the popular pope's support in its bid to become a member of the European Union.

People wait at a bus stop next to a poster

 showing Pope Francis on September 20,

2014 in Tirana (AFP Photo/Gent Shkullaku)

"It is a strong signal and an encouragement to ramp up our move towards European integration," Don Gjergi Meta, the Church's spokesman in Albania, told Vatican Radio.

The Vatican has insisted it has not increased security for the trip, but Albania's interior ministry said police have set up 29 checkpoints in downtown Tirana, where most of the pope's activities were planned.

Some Vatican watchers fear Francis has made himself a target by speaking out against the Islamic State organisation.

But the Argentine pontiff, who loves to mingle with the crowds, will use the same open-topped vehicle he uses in Saint Peter's Square.

Albania last month began sending weapons and ammunition to Kurdish forces fighting IS militants in Iraq, and security sources in the country have dismissed fears that home-grown militants might be planning an attack.

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"The Recalibration of Awareness – Apr 20/21, 2012 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Old Energy, Recalibration Lectures, God / Creator, Religions/Spiritual systems  (Catholic Church, Priests/Nun’s, Worship, John Paul Pope, Women in the Church otherwise church will go, Current Pope won’t do it),  Middle East, Jews, Governments will change (Internet, Media, Democracies, Dictators, North Korea, Nations voted at once), Integrity (Businesses, Tobacco Companies, Bankers/ Financial Institutes, Pharmaceutical company to collapse),  Illuminati (Started in Greece, with Shipping, Financial markets, Stock markets, Pharmaceutical money (fund to build Africa, to develop)), Shift of Human Consciousness, (Old) Souls, Women, Masters to/already come back, Global Unity.... etc.) - (Text version)

“.   New Tolerance

Look for a softening of finger pointing and an awakening of new tolerance. There will remain many systems for different cultures, as traditions and history are important to sustaining the integrity of culture. So there are many in the Middle East who would follow the prophet and they will continue, but with an increase of awareness. It will be the increase of awareness of what the prophet really wanted all along - unity and tolerance. The angel in the cave instructed him to "unify the tribes and give them the God of Israel." You're going to start seeing a softening of intolerance and the beginning of a new way of being.

Eventually, this will create an acknowledgement that says, "You may not believe the way we believe, but we honor you and your God. We honor our prophet and we will love you according to his teachings. We don't have to agree in order to love." How would you like that? The earth is not going to turn into one belief system. It never will, for Humans don't do that. There must be variety, and there must be the beauty of cultural differences. But the systems will slowly update themselves with increased awareness of the truth of a new kind of balance. So that's the first thing. Watch for these changes, dear ones. ...."