Ernest Simoni

Ernest Simoni Troshani (born 18 October 1928) is an Albanian Catholic prelate known for being one of the few recent appointees to the College of Cardinals who, prior to appointment, was not a bishop. He is known for his resistance to persecution under the Albanian Hoxha regime. He was created a cardinal by Pope Francis in a consistory held on 19 November 2016.

Life Simoni was born in 1928 in in the Albanian Kingdom.

On 24 December 1963, he was imprisoned by the Communist authorities after offering a Mass for the repose of assassinated US President John F. Kennedy. Simoni was tortured and even offered marriage to leave his faith. He was sentenced to death, but the sentence was converted into a prison term and he spent 28 years at penal labour, first in a mine and then in a sewage canal.

On 21 September 2014, he met Pope Francis during his apostolic visit to Albania and provided the pope with his own testimony on his experiences under the Communist regime.

On 9 October 2016, Pope Francis announced that he would create Simoni a cardinal in the consistory held on 19 November of the same year. Canon 351 of the Code of Canon Law requires that all cardinals must be bishops, but Simoni was given a papal dispensation from the requirement of episcopal consecration. At the consistory, he was assigned the titular church, becoming Cardinal-Deacon of Santa Maria della Scala. His motto as cardinal is "My Immaculate Heart will triumph" (Zemra jeme dotë triumfojë in his native Albanian) in reference to Our Lady of Fátima.

On October 25, 2025, during the Pontifical High Mass as part of the 14th annual Summorum Pontificum Pilgrimage, Simoni offered Pope Leo XIII’s Exorcism against Satan and the Apostate Angels, invoking St. Michael the Archangel.

Honors In 2017, he received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement presented at an awards ceremony in London.