November 8, 1462, Baptismal Formula in the Albanian language

Pal Engjëlli

 On November 8, 1462, the Baptism Formula, known as the first document in the Albanian language, has been written in the Latin alphabet.

The formula was written by Pal Engjëlli after his visit to the parish churches and the areas of the archdiocese of Durrës.

At the end of this visit Pal Engjëlli makes a resume of the state of organization of the Church, the difficult situation of the inhabitants and the believers, the great economic problems and dangers that threatened the population at that time and leaving messages, first of all to the priests but also to the believers (residents) to baptize infants in case of danger of death with the words of the Ecclesiastical Ritual Formula of the Sacrament of Baptism…

“Unë po të pagëzoj në emër të Atit, e të Birit e të Shpirtit Shenjt” (I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit).

The Baptism formula is an Albanian phrase in a 37-page Latin script.

Finally in this document, Pal Engjëlli asks the Superiors of the Church of Rome, the Holy See, to help the poor and suffering population of these areas.

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