Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Bamako (Agenzia Fides) – Fr. Léon Dougnon, the priest who was kidnapped on June 21 along with four lay people from Ségué, was released on the afternoon of July 13, in Bandiagara, where he is still recovering from the kidnapping (see Fides, 23, 24, 25/6/2021).
The Bishop of Mopti, Mgr. Jean-Baptiste Tiama, communicated the news expressing his joy and thanking all those who have contributed to his release. The priest, parish priest of Our Lady of Lourdes in Ségué, together with the village chief of Ségué, the deputy mayor and two other members of the community, traveled from Ségué to San to attend the funeral of Father Oscar Thera, who had been parish priest in Ségué for nine years. They were kidnapped about thirty kilometers north of Ségué, near Ouo. The four lay people were released on June 23 along a road in the Bandiagara region, and the kidnappers fled in their car. However, Fr Léon was still missing, and he was not released until July 13. However, Sister Cecilia Narváez Argoti, a Colombian missionary of the Congregation of the Franciscan Sisters of Mary Immaculate, who was kidnapped in the mission of Karangasso, in southern Mali, on the night of February 7, remains in the hands of her kidnappers. 2017. (SL) (Agenzia Fides, 15/7/2021)
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