SHKOLLAT KATOLIKE GJATË PUSHTIMIT ITALIAN (PRILL 1939-SHTATOR 1943)
CATHOLIC SCHOOLS DURING THE ITALIAN OCCUPATION (APRIL 1939-SEPTEMBER 1943)

Summary/Abstract: The activity of Catholic schools in Albania dates back a long time ago. After the creation of the Albanian state, its progress in relation to it was accompanied by its ups and downs, which had to do with the process of nationalization of education, as well as the pressure that Italy would like to exert through them. The Pontifical Seminary and the “Saverian” college, led by the Jesuit Fathers and the lyceum “Illyricum” by the Franciscans, continued their educational activity even during the occupation of Albania by Italy. So far studies on this topic, for this period, are few. Hence this article brings novelty for the studies about the Second World War in Albania. After April 1939, with the installation of the occupation authorities, the attitude of the Italians towards Catholic schools changed. They no longer played the role of their protector as in the years of the reign of Zog. Initially under the changes and "reforms" in the field of education they tried to reduce the number of classical gymnasiums, directly affecting the future of the college “Saverian” and lyceum “Illyricum”. The attitude of Jesuits and Franciscans to the demands of Italian impositions would be different. The first were shown to be ready to arrive at compromises, while the latter held opposing positions and expressed resistance to radical actions such as closing the school, for the academic year 1939-1940. The most controversial issue during this period was that of the legal status of Catholic private-religious schools, which highlighted the differentiating treatment of the Italian occupiers in favor of the Jesuits. After repeated insistences and demands, especially from the Franciscans, the right to equate Catholic schools with state schools of the same level was finally won. This success was achieved at a time when Italy's position in Albania had dramatically changed and in a few months it would capitulate. Another special contribution to the increase of the local clerical element was the Pontifical Seminary, in which every year young people from the Albanian archbishops or dioceses were registered. Whereas, in the cities of Shkodra, Tirana and Korça, the girls' schools run by the Franciscan Stigmatine sisters helped not only in teaching children to read and write, but also in their practical training in work schools. The attitude towards the educational institutions of the Catholics was dictated by the Italian interests in Albania, trying to keep them under control and to extinguish any resistance, but without being able to fully achieve the goal.

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