The Baptismal Formula, the first Albanian written document, November 8, 1462, by Pal Engjëlli

 Painting of Pal Engjëlli

 "I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit," this is the first known act of communicating in written form in the Albanian language. We began with a prayer, our sacred Albanian written word.

Today is the 559 anniversary since the Baptismal Formula came into Albanian, which dated back to November 8, 1462. It is written by the Archbishop of Durres, Bishop Pal Engjëlli.

The document of the Albanian archbishop, Pal Enëgjëlli, friend, adviser and close associate of Gjergj Kastriot, Skanderbeg, is stored in the Laurentian Library of Florence and was first found by the Romanian historian Nicolae Jorga in 1915.

The document is the fruit of the pastoral visit that the Albanian Archbishop made as pastor and spiritual leader of the Lord's flock through the parish churches and the archdiocese of Durres.

Script of the Baptismal Formula written in 1462 by Pal Engjëlli

At the end of this visit, he presents an overview of the state of the Church's organization, the difficult situation of its inhabitants and believers, the severe economic problems and the dangers that threatened the population at that time and left the testament to the priests but also to the Catholic believers to baptize the infants in the event of death risk with the words of the Ecclesiastical Sacrament of Ritual Formula…

Script of the Baptismal Formula written in 1462 by Pal Engjëlli

"I baptize thee in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost."

Finally, in this document the Bishop Pal Engjëlli asks the superiors of the Church of Rome, the Holy See, to help the poor and suffering population of these areas. The oldest document we have in Albanian, therefore, belongs to the time of Skanderbeg. The Baptismal Formula is an Albanian phrase among a 37-page Latin script, written by the renowned archbishop of Durres, the Bishop Pal Engjëlli (1417-1469).