Alojzije Palić (Latin: ''Aloysius Mathaeus Paliq'', Albanian: Luigj Paliq; 1877 or 1878 – 7 March 1913) was a Kosovo Croat

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

and

Catholic priest The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in common English usage ''priest'' refe ...

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

and

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' Word stem, stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external party. In ...

, murdered by Montenegrin soldiers in 1913. He was

beatified Beatification (from Latin , "blessed" and , "to make") is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their name. ''Beati'' is the ...

Shkodër Shkodër ( , ; sq-definite, Shkodra; historically known as Scodra or Scutari) is the List of cities and towns in Albania, fifth-most-populous city of Albania and the seat of Shkodër County and Shkodër Municipality. Shkodër has been List of o ...

on 16 November 2024, together with don Ivan Gazula (1893–1927).

Biography

He was born as Matej Palić in

Janjevo Janjevo () or Janjevë (in Albanian) is a village or small town in the Lipjan municipality in eastern Kosovo. The settlement has a long history, having been mentioned for the first time in 1303 as a Catholic parish. The town was prior to the Ko ...

Janjevci Janjevci (, , ), Kosovo Croats (, ) or Janjevci Croats () are a Croat community in Kosovo, inhabiting the town of Janjevo and surrounding villages near Pristina, as well as villages centered on Letnica near Vitia (Šašare, Vrnez, and Vrnavoko ...

family of Toma and Paulina Palić (née Đurić). He enters Franciscan

novitiate The novitiate, also called the noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a Christian ''novice'' (or ''prospective'') monastic, apostolic, or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether ...

on 23 Septembre 1896, taking

religious name A religious name is a type of given name bestowed for religious purposes, and which is generally used in such contexts. Christianity Catholic Church Baptismal name In baptism, Catholic Church, Catholics are given a Christian name, which should n ...

Alojzije. He studied

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

in Shkodër and

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

Bologne Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

and

Parma Parma (; ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmesan, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,986 inhabitants as of 2025, ...

. Palić took his lifelong vows on 8 December 1901, and was ordained a priest on 20 April 1902, in Parma. Upon completing his studies, he returned to his province, where he was a parish vicar in the Archdiocese of Skhoder from 1905 to 1907. He later served as a

parish priest A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

in Baz and Đakovica, where he was also rector of the hospice, and from 1911 to 1913 in Peć and Glođane. As a parson in Glođane, he opposed the

forced conversion Forced conversion is the adoption of a religion or irreligion under duress. Someone who has been forced to convert to a different religion or irreligion may continue, covertly, to adhere to the beliefs and practices which were originally held, w ...

of Muslims in the surrounding villages by the Orthodox. For this, he was

arrest An arrest is the act of apprehending and taking a person into custody (legal protection or control), usually because the person has been suspected of or observed committing a crime. After being taken into custody, the person can be question ...

ed on March 4, 1913, and spent several days in prison in Peć, where he was beaten and

torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons including corporal punishment, punishment, forced confession, extracting a confession, interrogational torture, interrogation for information, or intimid ...

d, and forced to renounce his priesthood and Catholic faith in order to convert to the Orthodoxy. On March 7, 1913, even before the trial, he was killed by Montenegrin soldiers near the village of Janoš. He was buried immediately, and only after four months was his body found and transferred to the church in Zjum, in southwestern Kosovo.

Beatification

The process for his beatification began in 2002 in the Diocese of Shkodër, within the cause of 40 martyrs killed out of hatred for the Catholic faith from 1913 to 1974 in Albania. A separate process for Fr. Alojzije continued on 9 March 2012 in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. Pope Francis authorized the Prefect of the

Dicastery for the Causes of Saints In the Catholic Church, the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, previously named the Congregation for the Causes of Saints (), is the dicastery of the Roman Curia that oversees the complex process that leads to the canonization of saints, pas ...

, Cardinal Marcel Semerar, to publish a decree on the martyrdom out of hatred for the faith of the Servant of God Fr. Alojzije Palić on 20 June 2024.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Palić, Alojzije People murdered in 1913 Kosovo Croats Croatian Franciscans Albanian Franciscans 20th-century Croatian Roman Catholic priests 20th-century Albanian Roman Catholic priests Croatian beatified people Albanian beatified people Franciscan beatified people University of Bologna alumni University of Parma alumni 1913 deaths 1870s births People murdered in Serbia