Father Kolaj Has 'Beautiful Vision' for Albanian Catholic Church

The Rev. Frane Kolaj knew he wanted to become a priest when he was in the seventh grade.

A native of Kosovo, he went to a special high school and studied for six years at the Philosophical and Theological College in Croatia to make that dream come true.

Today, after 24 years as an ordained priest and one year as a deacon, Kolaj is the new administrator and pastor of St. Paul’s Albanian Catholic Church in Rochester Hills.

The Auburn Road church has more than 1,000 families in its congregation.

Learning English

Most recently, Kolaj served as priest of the Albanian Catholic Mission in the eastern part of Switzerland. His new appointment was a cooperative decision between the Archbishop of Detroit and the Bishop of Kosovo.

Although Kolaj speaks three languages, he does not speak English. He plans to spend the next six months in an intensive course to learn the language. This is important to be fully integrated, he said, speaking through a translator, Franz-Llesh Grishaj, who is a religious teacher at the church.

"There are a lot of various meetings I need to go to with religious people and laypeople," he said. "I need to be able to comprehend and give back."

The Masses — there are eight throughout the week — are conducted in his native Albanian, while the religious instruction classes are taught in English. Eventually, the church may hold Masses in English, but for now, the majority of the congregation still speaks Albanian.

A 'most-loved country'

Kolaj, 51, replaces the Rev. Anton Kcira, who retired after 22 years of service. Kolaj praised the United States, which he credits as a model of freedom and democracy for the world.

"I am blessed that I am here," he said. "I am blessed that I am in the United States of America.

"I say this with full sincerity because the United States of America is the most loved country for the Albanian people. The reason is they are a true friend of the Albanians.

"I say that as a citizen, as a priest. I am obedient to the church, and where the church tells me to go, I will go."

There are two Albanian churches in Michigan: St. Paul's in Rochester Hills and Our Lady of Albanian Catholic Church in Southfield.

The churches appeal to the Albanian people, an ethnic group identified as from the area of southeast Europe bordered by Greece, the Adriatic Sea, Montenegro, Kosovo and Macedonia.

St. Paul's attracts parishioners from throughout the tri-county area. During the past six or seven years, the church has lost about 300 families who had problems with documentation and immigration.

While this is a problem, Kolaj said, he understands that the United States has to follow proper procedures.

"The painfulness is you have families torn apart," he said. "The state does what it has to do. I believe, even in pain, we can build something constructive."

Working toward integration

As the new leader of St. Paul's, Kolaj has already founded a pastoral council and committees for family and youth, as well as for cultural and artistic functions. In addition, he said he will continue to help integrate the Albanian people into the American culture.

"Integration, yes," he said. "Assimilation, no."

In his free time, Kolaj enjoys soccer, basketball, running and pingpong. He also reads a lot and keeps up with current events. With an easy smile, he joked while talking to co-workers and said it takes a good sense of humor to preach God’s word and help families in need.

"I like him, Father Fran," said religious instructor Grishaj. "He has a beautiful vision for our future, and I respect that.

"I really believe Father Anton was God-sent at a very crucial time when we needed him, and once again, God sent another one of his servants to continue a new phase for our community," Grishaj said.