SHNE NDOU - REBIRTH OF FAITH IN ALBANIA (Albania, 2006)

For nearly fifty years Albania groaned under the regime of the Communist dictator Enver Hoxha. Religion was forbidden during those years. Churches were rebuilt to become sports centers and no religious symbols were permitted anywhere – not even in homes. Albania was even officially declared the only atheistic country in the world. Nevertheless, religion is still alive and kicking there. For example, every year thousands of pilgrims – Muslims, Roman Catholics and Orthodox Christians alike – gather at the crag of Shne Ndou, near the village of Lac. Here the saint Shne Ndou is reputed to have performed miracles during his journey from Jerusalem to the Vatican. According to believers, touching the rocks at this place has a healing effect. About seventy percent of the Albanian population are Muslim, twenty percent Orthodox, and the remainder Roman Catholic.