Saint Anthony Church, Laç, Catholic monastery and pilgrimage church in Laç, Albania

Saint Anthony Church in Laç is a Franciscan monastery and church rebuilt in the 1990s on the site of a structure first built around 1300 and renamed for Anthony of Padua in 1557. The church is of light-coloured stone blocks with a gabled roof, a small square bell tower with a cross on its left, a dark arched entrance and a round window above it. A connected two-storey stone building with arched openings and a stone gateway with a cross stand beside it.

A church existed here around 1300, dedicated to St. Mary, and was renamed after Anthony of Padua in 1557. The communist regime largely destroyed it in 1964 and removed the last traces in 1981. Rebuilt with German funding in the 1990s and completed in 2000, it is served by Franciscans.

The pilgrimage traditionally begins on 12 June, when pilgrims gather before walking to the church; some carry five white stones, whisper to each and put them back, while others approach barefoot and place their feet in cracks in the rocks. The church is served by Franciscans and draws visitors regardless of nominal religion.

The pilgrimage traditionally begins on 12 June, when pilgrims gather before walking to the church; the feast of St. Anthony falls on 13 June. Some pilgrims carry five white stones, whisper to each and put them back, while others approach barefoot and place their feet in cracks in the rocks. The church stands east of Laç, at the edge of the bread fields.

A stone in the ruins of the courtyard wall carries a Star of David inside a circle and frame, with six-pointed stars in six rows; its reverse shows a broken cross. Villagers say the hewn stones are not found locally and do not know where they came from.