Bar, Yugoslavia, November 1, 1998 (IKA) – On October 31, the newly appointed archbishop of Bar and primate of Serbia, Zef Gashi, assumed his duties in Bar (Montenegro-Yugoslavia). A Solemn Mass was held in the Church of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Mass was celebrated by Archbishop Gashi, together with the apostolic nuncio to the Socialist Republic of Yugoslavia, Msgr. Abrilo Santos y Castello; the president of the Yugoslav Conference of Catholic Bishops, Archbishop Franc Perko of Belgrade; retired Bishop Petar Perkolić of Bar, Bishop Janoš Penzeš of Subotica (Vojvodina-Yugoslavia), Bishop Marko Sopi of Prizren (Kosovo-Yugoslavia), Archbishop Rrok Mirditha of Tiranë (Albania), Auxiliary Bishop Zef Simoni of Skopje-Prizren (Macedonia, Kosovo-Yugoslavia), Bishop elimir Puljić of Dubrovnik (Croatia), Bishop Ratko Perić of Mostar (Bosnia-Herzegovina), Bishop Ilija Janjić of Kotor (Montenegro-Yugoslavia), and Salesian Inspector Stanislav Hočevar of Ljubljana (Slovenia). Also present were the minister of religion for the Socialist Republic of Yugoslavia, Dr. Slobodan Tomović; representatives of the political parties and nongovernment organizations, the mayor of Bar, representatives of the Islamic community and a large number of the faithful. Archbishop Gashi appealed during his sermon for justice and peace (Justitia et Pax), his motto as archbishop which he considers to be the foundation of humanity and freedom. Apostolic Nuncio Santos y Castello read greetings to the new archbishop of Bar from Pope John Paul II.
Congratulations were also sent from the President of the Republic of Montenegro, Milo Đukanović, who expressed confidence that Archbishop Gashi, like his predecessor, would be dedicated to his holy mission for the good of the Catholic faithful and all citizens and make a contribution to strengthening religious tolerance in Montenegro. Congratulations were also received from the President of the Government of the Republic of Montenegro, Filip Vujanović. Zef Gashi was appointed by Pope John Paul II as the new archbishop of Bar on July 10 of this year, when Archbishop Petar Perkolić, who had reached the age of 75, was retired.
The diocese of Bar was established in the 9th century and became an archdiocese in 1089. The inhabitants of the old state of Zeta were Catholic in the 11th and 12th centuries, as were their rulers, who enjoyed special protection and honor from the Holy See. Bar, the last bastion of Christianity in the region, fell during the Turkish invasion and part of the Catholic population converted to Islam. Others embraced Orthodoxy following the East-West Schism of 1054 until at least the 17th century, so that today members of the Catholic Church constitute only 3% of the population. Difficult challenges await the new sixty-year-old archbishop in the religious, political, social and economic areas. His motto, “Justice and Peace,” will be, as he emphasized, the guiding principle of his pastoral activity. This is a very small archdiocese with approximately 16,000 Catholic faithful, 15 priests, and approximately 30 nuns, although it is of great historical significance. Archbishop Gashi called for archdiocesan and spiritual renewal.
The newly appointed archbishop was born in 1938 in Pešter, near Priština (Kosovo-Yugoslavia). He was ordained to the priesthood in 1969 in Zagreb. For many years he was the parish priest of Priština and occasionally assisted in the parish of Podgorica. When Albania began permitting freedom for the Catholic Church, he went to serve in Shkadër, where he was appointed as the head of the Albanian Catechism Institute. Archbishop Gashi is a member of the Salesian order.