For most Catholics, December 8 is known as the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception. In Albania, the same date carries an additional meaning. It marks the student protests of Dec. 8, 1990 – later commemorated as National Youth Day – the first public rupture in the last, most rigid communist regime in Europe. The week before that historic day, St. Teresa of Calcutta returned to Albania while the communist system was visibly failing. Mother Teresa’s aim was direct: she wanted to bring the Missionaries of Charity to Albania.
