They ask for prayers for two nuns kidnapped in Nigeria

Two nuns, belonging to the congregation of the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, were kidnapped in Nigeria by seven armed men on January 7. Their community asks for prayers for them to be rescued and released.

Sisters Vincentia Maria Nwankwo and Grace Mariette Okoli were intercepted while returning from a meeting of their Vocational Association in Ogboji. The Sister Vicentia is the principal of a secondary school and Sr. Grace is a teacher at an all-girls high school.

According to the pontifical foundation Help the Church in Need (ACN, for its acronym in English), the kidnappers would be members of criminal gangs that operate freely in the region, although official confirmation is still awaited. Kidnappings in Nigeria are increasingly common, explains ACN, due to the profit that criminals obtain by collecting ransoms.

“We request your fervent prayers and supplications to God so that they may be released as soon as possible and return safely. Please also pray that his release is unconditional,” wrote nun Maria Sobenna Ikeotuonye, ​​general secretary of the congregation.

The pontifical foundation indicated that 25 priests, seminarians and religious were kidnapped in Nigeria in 2023, and 4 were murdered.

Furthermore, the Fides news agency reported that local police have launched “a joint security operation” to rescue both nuns. “The authorities continue to investigate the case to clarify the details of the kidnapping and guarantee his prompt release,” he says.