Colombian nun still held in Mali four years after jihad abduction
Franciscan Sister Gloria Cecilia Narváez was kidnapped in the violent West African country in February 2017
A Colombian missionary nun who was taken captive in Mali by Islamic jihadists some four years ago is believed to still be alive, but in ill health.
Sister Gloria Cecilia Narváez, a member of the Franciscans of Mary Immaculate, was kidnapped in the south of the West African country on February 7, 2017.
The now 58-year-old religious had been working as a missionary in the area for more than 10 years at the time of her abduction.
A fellow hostage, a French woman named Sophie Pétronin, was released on last October 8th. She has asked French President Emmanuel Macron to try to secure Sister Gloria’s release.
Pétronin said she and the Colombian missionary had spent a large part of their captivity together. They were moved from one jihadist camp to another, being forced to share blankets, food and water.
She said at one point Sister Gloria was tied up for three days because she had gotten lost during a walk.
Request for help
In a video the jihadists posted in late January 2018, the nun appealed to Pope Francis for help.
She was seen in her religious habit, looking tired. She joined her hands in a pleading gesture and implored the pope to help her get released.
The Colombian authorities had already expressed concerns about her health in September 2017, seven months after she had been abducted.
"She is alive but her health is not good. She has problems with a leg and a kidney," a government spokesperson said.
Petition
The day after Sister Gloria was taken captive, the Catholic Church began working for her liberation.
The Franciscan Sisters of Mary Immaculate launched a petition in May 2017 urging her release. Some 90,000 people signed the appeal.
In March that same year, the Bishops' Conference of Mali also launched an "emergency plan" to regain the missionary nun’s freedom.
The bishops bombarded the media and asked the country’s Catholics to pray daily for her release.
Her mother passed away
Sister Gloria’s 87-year-old mother, Rosita Argoty de Narváez, died last September.
The elderly woman had dreamed of once again embracing her daughter. But, unfortunately, that day never happened.