Dozens of citizens, along with Friar Ndue Toplana, gathered at the Church of Saint Ndue in Laç to oppose the Franciscan Province's project to transform the church.
With the motto "Stop Burying Faith", they demanded a halt to the works, emphasizing that this place is in danger of turning into an environment similar to a cemetery.
"A project has been made here where everything will be demolished, the entire square up to the parking lot, everything except the small church. And at the end below this, below where it will now be a crypt, a place for prayer, and the crypt everyone knows around the world that it is a place of graves. And we normally don't like Albanians in general coming to this church to enter the graves to pray. I want us to be a church above, above the place, above the square," said priest Ndue Toplana.
According to citizens and church representatives, the current project violates the identity and sanctity of the place.
The Franciscan Province has rejected these claims, stating that the existing church will not be affected but a new cathedral will be built on the land and a place for prayer below it.
