View source for Rrok Mirdita

{{Short description|Albanian prelate of the Catholic Church (1939–2015)}}
{{Infobox Christian leader
| type             = Archbishop 
| honorific-prefix = His Excellency
| name             = Rrok Kolë Mirdita
| honorific-suffix = 
| title            = [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Tiranë-Durrës|Archbishop of Tiranë-Durrës]]
| image            = 
| image_size       = 
| caption          = 
| church           = [[Catholic Church]]
| archdiocese      = [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Tiranë-Durrës]]
| province         = 
| metropolis       = [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Tiranë-Durrës|Tiranë-Durrës]]
| diocese          = [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Tiranë-Durrës|Tiranë-Durrës]]
| see              = 
| elected          = 
| appointed        = 25 December 1992
| term             = 
| term_start       = 25 April 1993
| quashed          = 
| term_end         = 7 December 2015
| predecessor      = [[Vinçenc Prennushi]]
| opposed          = 
| successor        = [[George Anthony Frendo]]
| other_post       = 
<!---------- Orders
The Orders section may be omitted in favour of Template:Ordination for those
clergy claiming Apostolic succession, such as Catholics, Orthodox and Anglicans. ---------->
| ordination       = 2 July 1965
| ordained_by      = Aleksandar Tokic
| consecration     = 25 April 1993
| consecrated_by   = [[Pope John Paul II]]
| cardinal         = 
| created_cardinal_by =
| rank             = Metropolitan Archbishop 
<!---------- Personal details ---------->
| birth_name       = 
| birth_date       = {{Birth date|1939|09|28|df=y}}
| birth_place      = Klezna, [[Kingdom of Yugoslavia]]
| death_date       = {{Death date and age|2015|12|07|1939|09|28|df=y}} 
| death_place      = [[Tirana]], [[Albania]]
| buried           = 
| religion         = <!-- do not use for Catholics/Orthodox; instead use the 'church' parameter above -->
| residence        = 
| parents          = 
| occupation       = 
| profession       = 
| previous_post    = 
| education        =
| alma_mater       = 
| motto            = {{Ubl | {{Lang|la|Ut omnes unum sint}} | (That they may all be one) }}
| signature        = Rrok Mirdita (nënshkrim).svg
| signature_alt    = 
| coat_of_arms     = 
| coat_of_arms_alt = 
}}
{{infobox bishopstyles |
    name=Rrok Mirdita |
    dipstyle=[[The Most Reverend]] |
    offstyle=[[Your Excellency]] |
    relstyle=[[Monsignor]] |
    deathstyle=none |}}

'''Rrok Kolë Mirdita''' (28 September 1939 – 7 December 2015) was an [[Albania]]n prelate of the [[Catholic Church]] who served as the [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Tiranë-Durrës|archbishop of Tiranë-Durrës]] from 1993 to his death in 2015.<ref name=botasot>{{cite web|url=http://botasot.info/lajme/488245/rrok-mirdita-me-nje-histori-te-gjate-me-nju-jorkun-ka-qene-simbol-i-unifikimit-te-katolikeve-te-treshtetshit-new-york-new-jersey-connecticut/|title=Rrok Mirdita, me një histori të gjatë me Nju Jorkun, ka qenë simbol i unifikimit të katolikëve të Treshtetshit - New York-New Jersey-Connecticut|work=Bota Sot}}</ref>

== Biography ==

Mirdita was ordained a priest on 2 July 1965, aged 25, and served in ethnic Albanian parishes in [[Bronx County, New York|Bronx]] and [[Westchester County, New York|Westchester]] counties of New York.

On 25 December 1992, aged 53, he was appointed the archbishop of [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Tiranë-Durrës|Tiranë-Durrës]] and consecrated on 25 April  1993 by [[Pope John Paul II]] and cardinals [[Camillo Ruini]] and [[Jozef Tomko]], along with three other bishops ([[Zef Simoni]], {{ill|Frano Illia|sq}} and [[Robert Ashta]]) during the Pope's pastoral visit to Albania. Mirdita was the President of the [[Episcopal Conference of Albania]], as well as the President of [[Caritas Albania]] from 1994 to 2000.<ref name=RrokMirditaCaritas>{{cite web |language=sq |url= https://gazeta-shqip.com/2015/12/08/shuhet-arkipeshkv-rrok-mirdita/ |title= Shuhet arkipeshkv Rrok Mirdita |date= 8 December 2015 |website= [[Gazeta Shqip]] |access-date= July 12, 2024}}</ref>

On his initiative [[St Paul's Cathedral (Tirana)|St. Paul's Cathedral]] was built in Tirana. Its triangular architecture, according to the Archbishop's idea, symbolizes the cohabitation of [[Islam]], [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodoxy]] and [[Catholicism]] in Albania. The first [[Mass (liturgy)|Holy Mass]] in the new cathedral was celebrated by Cardinal [[Angelo Sodano]], [[Holy See|Vatican]]'s Secretary of State, and Archbishop Mirdita on 27 January 2002. The Archbishop's house was built next to the Eastern Orthodox cathedral and on Christmas 1999, Mirdita and the Eastern Orthodox Archbishop [[Archbishop Anastasios of Albania|Anastasios (Anastas)]] greeted parishioners together.<!-- NOTE: Christmas is celebrated on different dates by Eastern Orthodox and Catholics --> {{Citation needed|date=July 2011}} Rrok Mirdita was an Honorary Citizen of [[Tirana]], Albania.

He died at [[Mother Teresa Hospital (Tirana)|Mother Teresa Hospital]] in Tirana on 7 December 2015.<ref name=botasot/>

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
* [http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bmirdita.html Rrok Mirdita at catholic-hierarchy.org]

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{{succession box |
 title=[[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Tiranë-Durrës|Archbishop of Tiranë-Durrës]] |
 before=New title|
 after=[[George Anthony Frendo]] |
 years=1992–2015 | }}
{{s-end}}
{{Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York|state=collapsed}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mirdita, Rrok Kole}}
[[Category:1939 births]]
[[Category:2015 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Ulcinj]]
[[Category:Albanians in Montenegro]]
[[Category:Montenegrin expatriates in the United States]]
[[Category:Albanian Roman Catholic archbishops]]
[[Category:Bishops appointed by Pope John Paul II]]
[[Category:20th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Albania]]
[[Category:21st-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Albania]]



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