Pope Francis meets Colombian nun freed from Mali kidnapping
Pope Francis leads a mass to open the synod of bishops in Vatican City, October 10, 2021. REUTERS/Remo Casilli
VATICAN CITY: Pope Francis on Sunday (Oct 10) met a Colombian nun who was freed after being kidnapped by Islamist militants in Mali four years ago.
The Vatican said in a statement that Francis met Sister Gloria Cecilia Narvaez in St Peter's Basilica just before he celebrated Mass there to open a two-year worldwide consultation on the Catholic Church's future.
The Mali presidency announced her release on Saturday but the timing and other details were not clear.
Kidnapping has been a lucrative source of cash for Islamist groups in West Africa's Sahel region, where they are waging an expanding insurgency against national armies, French forces and UN peacekeepers.
