NEW ROCHELLE, NY

Sept. 12, 2018

(Excerpt) A chaplain to the Missionaries of Charity Sisters in Yemen at that time who was also serving Catholics there on a religious visa, Father Uzhunnalil, now 60, was abducted March 4, 2016, after a group of gunmen barged into the care home for the elderly run by the religious sisters. Sixteen people, including four Missionaries of Charity, were killed in the attack.

He was released Sept. 12, 2017, after enduring a lonely captivity in some unknown locations.

Last week, Father Uzhunnalil recounted his kidnapping and release at the Salesian Missions in New Rochelle. The attentive audience at the Sept. 5 assembly included students from nearby Salesian High School as well as Salesian Missions administration and staff members. Father Mark Hyde, S.D.B., director of Salesian Missions, had invited Father Uzhunnalil to share his story. A question-and-answer session followed.

The day marked the feast of St. Teresa of Kolkata, foundress of the Missionaries of Charity.

“First, I say a big thanks to our Lord for permitting me to be present here, and to see you all and to thank you all in Jesus’ name for the prayers that I have received without really knowing who all have been praying for me,” Father Uzhunnalil said.

“If I stand here, I owe to each and every one of you present here, those representing different parts of the world in this country and other countries. May Jesus bless each and every one. Jesus is our living God who has heard our prayers, will continue to hear our prayers, and give us an answer in His good time, at the most appropriate time, for our benefit.”

See the full article in Catholic New York.