Blessed Marije Tuci

I was born in Albania in 1928, and was raised in a very devout Catholic family. We regularly went to Mass and prayed the Rosary. After my education at the Franciscan Sisters of the Stigmata, I became a teacher. I was also accepted as an aspirant to religious life with the Sisters. In 1949, my country suffered under the terror of communism. Many priests and nuns were arrested for their faith. I too was arrested, probably partly because of my openly being a Catholic teacher, and also because of my being an aspirant to religious life. I was sentenced to three years in prison. When an official brutally made advances, I refused him to defend my purity. From this moment the torture became unbearable. Among other things, I was forced into a bag with an enraged cat. The scratches and bites I suffered led to blood poisoning. I died in the hospital of the prison in Shkodër, on the 24th of October 1950.