Cardinal Ernest Simoni, a priest of Shkodre-Pult, Albania, and a Cardinal-Deacon of Santa Maria della Scala, made a visit to the Archdiocese of New York in early August, with a stop at Cardinal Dolan’s residence Aug. 5. Ordained a priest in 1956, Cardinal Simoni spent 30 years in prison or forced labor under Albania’s militant atheistic regime. On Christmas Eve 1963, he was arrested while celebrating Mass and was sentenced to death by firing squad. He was beaten, placed for three months in solitary confinement, and then tortured because he refused to denounce the Church. He was eventually freed, but later arrested again and sent to a prison camp, where he was forced to work in a mine for 18 years and then 10 more years in sewage canals. He was named a cardinal by Pope Francis in 2016.