Preng Doçi (1846–1917), it, Primus Docci, was and
Albanian
Albanian may refer to:
*Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular:
**Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans
**Albanian language
**Albanian culture
**Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...
political and religious figure and poet.
He was a main contributor in the Albanian ''Bashkimi'' Alphabet.
Life
Preng Doçi was born in Paraspor neighborhood of Bulgër, a village near
Lezha, back then
Ottoman Empire, and today's
Rubik,
Mirditë
Mirditë ( sq-definite, Mirdita) is a municipality in Lezhë County, northwestern Albania. It was created in 2015 by the merger of the former municipalities Fan, Kaçinar, Kthellë, Orosh, Rrëshen, Rubik and Selitë. The seat of the municipa ...
municipality on 25 February 1846.
He finished the high school in
Shkodër
Shkodër ( , ; sq-definite, Shkodra) is the fifth-most-populous city of the Republic of Albania and the seat of Shkodër County and Shkodër Municipality. The city sprawls across the Plain of Mbishkodra between the southern part of Lake Shkod ...
and in 1859 entered the recently opened
Albanian Pontifical Seminary Albanian Pontifical Seminary ( sq, Kolegjia Papnore Shqyptare) is a Jesuit seminary located in Shkoder, Albania.
It opened first in 1859 in Shkoder, then the center of Scutari Vilayet of Ottoman Empire. In 1870, the seminary brought to life its ...
( sq, Kolegjia Papnore Shqyptare). Later he studied in
Rome, in the
Propaganda Fide College
Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to Social influence, influence or persuade an audience to further an Political agenda, agenda, which may not be Objectivity (journalism), objective and may be selectively presenting facts to en ...
, where he met and became a close friend of
Prenk Bibë Doda.
In 1871, he returned to
Mirdita
Mirdita is a region of northern Albania whose territory is synonymous with the historic Albanian tribe of the same name.
Etymology
The name Mirdita derives from a legendary ancestor named Mir Diti from whom the tribe claims descent. Other ...
region in Albania, where he served as a priest in
Korthpulë,
Orosh
Orosh (or ) is a small village in Mirditë within the county of Lezhë County, Lezhë in the northwest of the Republic of Albania. Geographically, it is located inside the mountainous region of northern Albania in the Fan (river), Valley of Fan.
...
, and, Kalivarja near
Spaç. He was among the leaders of the
Mirdita uprising against Ottoman rule in 1876–1877 under Prenk Bibë Doda. Doçi had previously traveled to
Cetinje
Cetinje (, ) is a town in Montenegro. It is the former royal capital (''prijestonica'' / приjестоница) of Montenegro and is the location of several national institutions, including the official residence of the president of Montenegro ...
, capital of
Principality of Montenegro, in order to seek financial and military assistance by the Montenegrins. He returned from Cetinje with a pledge of Montenegrin assistance and, equally important, a promise
of noninterference. The rebellion was quelled by the Ottomans in March 1877. The bishop of Lezhë, Francesco Malčinski, an
Austrian of
Ukrainian origin suspended him from all religious activities. Doçi hid in
Vuthaj, near
Gusinje. Later Doçi was captured and exiled to
Istanbul.
With the intervention of
Armenian Patriarch Stefan Azarian, he received a fake name ''Pére Achile'' and was sent to Rome with the condition of not returning to Albania.

After staying few months in
Antivari, with the intervention of
Cardinal
Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to:
Animals
* Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds
**''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae
**''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...
Giovanni Simeoni
Giovanni Simeoni (July 12, 1816 – January 14, 1892) was an Italian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church who served as Prefect of the Sacred Congregation for Propagation of the Faith from 1878 until his death, and was elevated to the card ...
of the Propaganda Fide, Doçi was sent to the west coast of the Americas,
Newsfoundland,
Wayne,
Pennsylvania, and
New Brunswick, where he worked as a missionary until 1881. To Doçi goes the honor, as far as it can be ascertained, of being the first known Albanian resident of
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
. After his return to Rome, he was sent to
India as secretary of the apostolic delegate to India, Cardinal
Antonio Agliardi. In 1888, after years of petitioning and with the intercession of the
patriarch of Constantinople
The ecumenical patriarch ( el, Οἰκουμενικός Πατριάρχης, translit=Oikoumenikós Patriárchēs) is the archbishop of Constantinople (Istanbul), New Rome and '' primus inter pares'' (first among equals) among the heads of th ...
, Doçi finally received permission from the Ottoman authorities to return to Albania. He arrived on 6 November 1888 and became abbot of Mirdita.
In January of the following year, he was consecrated head of the
Abbey nullius
A territorial abbey (or territorial abbacy) is a particular church of the Catholic Church comprising defined territory which is not part of a diocese but surrounds an abbey or monastery whose abbot or superior functions as ordinary for all Ca ...
of
St. Alexander of Orosh, Mirdita. In 1890 and later in 1894, several other regions of Lezhë and the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Sapë would be joined under his Abbey's jurisdiction.
Doçi died on 22 February 1917.
Political activity

Doçi did not cease his political efforts. He advocated for close relations between Albanians and Austria-Hungary to advance Albanian geopolitical self determination however his political thinking was mainly toward Albanian Catholic interests and regional concerns.
In 1897 he traveled to
Vienna to propose the creation of an autonomous Catholic principality in northern Albania under Mirdita leadership and would politically dominate within a wider confederation of Albanian statelets.
Austria-Hungary supported his proposal however found its implementation would be unfeasible and opposed by Muslim Albanians and the Ottoman Empire.
In 1889, he founded an Albanian school in Orosh (Grykë Orosh - Orosh
Gorge
A canyon (from ; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), or gorge, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosion, erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tenden ...
), one of the earliest.
Literary activity
In 1899, Doçi founded the ''Shoqnia e bashkimit të gjuhës shqipe'' (
Society for the Unity of the Albanian Language
Shoqnia e Bashkimit të Gjuhës Shqipe (Society for the Unity of the Albanian Language), usually known as the Shoqnia Bashkimi (The Union Society), or simply Bashkimi i Shkodrës (The Union of Shkodra) was a literary society founded in Shkodra, O ...
) literary society, usually known as the ''Shoqnia Bashkimi'' (The Union Society), or simply ''Bashkimi'' (The Union) of Shkodra for publishing Albanian language books.
Together with him there were Dom
Ndoc Nikaj
Ndoc Nikaj (15 June 186416 January 1951) was an Albanian priest, writer, and historian. He was the first Albanian novelist to write and publish an original novel in the Albanian language, ( en, Shkodra under siege) of 1905.
Biography
Born in S ...
,
Luigj Gurakuqi
Luigj Gurakuqi (also called Louis Gurakuchi; 19 February 1879 – 2 March 1925) was an Albanian writer and politician. He was an important figure of the Albanian National Awakening and was honoured with the People's Hero of Albania medal.
Bi ...
, Dom
Gjergj Fishta
Gjergj Fishta (; 23 October 187130 December 1940) was an Albanian Franciscan friar, poet, educator, politician, rilindas, translator and writer. He is regarded as one of the most influential Albanian writers of the 20th century due to his epic ...
, Dom Dodë Koleci, Father Pashk Bardhi, Dom Lazër Mjeda, etc. The society came out with the so-called
''Bashkimi'' alphabet, which would become one of the three alphabets considered for the standard
Albanian alphabet during the
Congress of Monastir
The Congress of Manastir ( sq, Kongresi i Manastirit) was an academic conference held in the city of Manastir (now Bitola) from November 14 to 22, 1908, with the goal of standardizing the Albanian alphabet. November 22 is now a commemorative da ...
in 1908.
Doçi supported the use of the Bashkimi alphabet and promoted its spread in Catholic Albanian schools.
He contributed to the ''
Fiamuri Arbërit'' (Flag of Albanians) newspaper of the
Arbëreshë scholar
Girolamo De Rada. He signed his articles as "Primo Docci", or "Një djalë prej Shqypnije" (A guy from Albania). After the foundation of ''Bashkimi'' Society, he published many works, many of them anonymously. Gjergj Fishta mentioned during his speech at the Doçi's funeral that Doçi had created 32 literary works.
See also
*
Ndre Mjeda
Ndre Mjeda (20 November 18661 August 1937) was an Albanian philologist, poet, priest, rilindas, translator and writer of the Albanian Renaissance. He was a member of the Mjeda family.
He was influenced by the Jesuit writer Anton Xanoni and ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Doci, Preng
19th-century Albanian writers
Albanian Jesuits
Albanian schoolteachers
Catholic poets
19th-century Albanian poets
20th-century Albanian poets
1846 births
1917 deaths
Albanian Catholic poets
People from Mirditë
People from Scutari vilayet
Activists of the Albanian National Awakening
Roman Catholic missionaries in India
Roman Catholic writers
Pontifical Urban University alumni
19th-century Albanian Roman Catholic priests
20th-century Albanian Roman Catholic priests