Spiritual cures soothe Albania

The frenzy for alternative cures has intensified due to misinformation online

From Christianity and Islam to animal sacrifices and pagan charms, Albanians have all their spiritual bases covered when crisis hits.The Franciscan church, which overlooks the town of Lac in the northwest, has been attracting pilgrims for centuries in a country where the boundaries between faiths are porous.

“They come here to relieve themselves of the fear of the unknown and the feeling of powerlessness in the face of the pandemic that seems to spare no one,” said Aferdita Onuzi, an anthropologist at the University of Tirana. “All believe in a miracle that could change their lives.” Many visitors light candles, leave clothes of a sick child in the hope of a cure or lay photos of loved ones to bring them good luck.

---

Everyone wants solutions to their ills “and to get rid of their fear in the face of the pandemic”, said the Franciscan church’s priest Mirash Ivanaj.Even those who have recovered from Covid-19 come “to find spiritual healing and to feel stronger against insecurity”, he said.

Many Albanians see all routes as worth a try to relieve stress, especially during crises like the current one, which has pushed the health system to the brink and unleashed catastrophic damage to the economy.

Albanians “believe in the power of the sun, the power of stones, the sea, nature”, explains Alfred Halilaj, an anthropologist at the University of Durres. “Because in its essence, our culture comes from paganism, which remains the foundation of identity and daily life, despite the superimposition of religious conversions,” he says.

Ada Zdrava, a 20-year-old pilgrim visiting for the first time, said she was hoping to “relieve her anxieties” and to promote “her happiness and that of her family”.