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| Don Arian Dodan at a Mass in St. Paul's Cathedral in Tirana |
The well-known priest, don Arjan Dodaj, was born in Laç, in the Archdiocese of Tirana-Durrës, on January 21, 1977. In 1993, after graduating in high school in his hometown, he emigrated to Italy. He settled in Cuneo, where he began working.
In 1977 he applied for admission to the Military Brotherhood of the Sons of the Cross, at the House of Mary Community in Rome. On the way to preparing for the priesthood, he began studying philosophy and theology at the Pontifical University "Queen of the Apostles" where he received his Bachelor's degree.
He was ordained a priest on May 11, 2003 by Pope John Paul II at St. Peter's Basilica and was ordained in the Diocese of Rome as a member of the Brotherhood of the Sons of the Cross, in the community of the House of Mary.
After the priestly ordination, he performed various pastoral duties. From 2003 to 2004 he was deputy parish priest at the Domenico Guzman Parish in Rome; from 2004 to 2005, Deputy Rector of the Rectorate of "San Giovanni della Malva" and Chaplain of the Albanian community in Rome; from 2005 to 2017, Deputy Parish Priest of the Parish "St. Raphael the Archangel", in Rome.
In 2027, with the approval of his bishop, Cardinal-Viceroy of His Holiness for the Diocese of Rome, he was transferred as a priest fidei donum to the Archdiocese of Tirana-Durres, where he performed the following pastoral duties: General Viceroy, Parish Priest of “ The Immaculate Heart of Our Lady” in Gramëz; Head of university bachelor's degree; Second Secretary of the Albanian Episcopal Conference and Secretary-General of the Diocesan Synod.