Scottish Catholic Observer

Frs Giampaolo Marta and Gianantonio Allegri (above) from Vicenza and Sr Gilberte Bissiere from Quebec were kidnapped on Friday night in Maroua, in the northeast of the country.

The missionaries worked to improve water supplies and combat HIV/AIDS in the region, and at the time of the kidnapping, were helping children prepare for Baptism during the Easter Vigil.

The kidnapping horrified the missionaries’ home parishes. Bishop Beniamino Pizziol of Vicenza held a prayer vigil on Saturday and Sr Gilberte’s hometown parish expressed their ‘great concern and sadness.’

Prior to the kidnapping, the Italian priests had expressed concern about their safety in Maroua.

“The situation of insecurity in the territory has not changed: even if outwardly here one does not perceive (it to be) particularly alarming, it is palpable in our feelings and in our conversations,”
 Fr Allegri wrote on the diocesan website last month.

“However, rest assured, we are calm and confident in the Father whom we preach, merciful and great in love.”

The Italian foreign office warns against travel in the area 30 km from the border with Nigeria ‘in consideration of the risk of kidnappings due to presence of jihadist elements coming from Nigeria.’

In a recent Vatican Radio interview, an unidentified priest from Vicenza noted that the Cameroonian nuns were left unharmed at the expense of the kidnapped Canadian nun.

No group has claimed responsibility for the kidnapping, but Vatican Radio says that it is most likely to be Islamic fundamentalist group Boko Haram, who have been involved in similar abductions in recent years.