Four years after a Columbian-born nun was kidnapped by Islamist militants in Mali, the Malian church reissued calls for her release.
Sister Gloria Cecilia Narvaez Argoty was seized by the Support Front for Islam and Muslims, a group linked to Al-Qaeda, while working in Karangasso, Mali.
Father Alexandre Denou, General Secretary of the Episcopal Conference in Mali, told Catholics charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) that the church is praying for her release.
The Church learned that Sister Gloria was still alive in October 2020 from Sophie Pétronin. The 75-year-old French doctor and former hostage was captured by the same jihadist as Sister Gloria.
“The release of Sophie and other hostages was a sign of hope for us,” Denou said.
Members of the Colombian clergy echoed Denou’s call for Sister Gloria’s release.
“The Church continues to pray for her health and her release,” said Bishop Francisco Múnera, the president of the Colombian Bishops’ Conference.
Sister Noemi Quesada, former superior general of the Congregation of the Franciscan Sisters of Mary Immaculate (the congregation to which Sister Gloria belonged) pleaded for her release on health grounds.
“We urgently ask the kidnappers to release her as soon as possible, because she has health issues. Sister Gloria is suffering a lot, as is the Congregation and her family,” Sister Quesada told Fides.
Before her abduction, Sister Gloria spent 12 years doing mission work across African countries, including Benin and Mali.
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