NEW ORLEANS (WGNO)— A New Orleans nun who was kidnapped in West Africa has been found alive after almost five months of captivity, according to the Archdiocese’s Facebook page.
Marianite Sister Suellen Tennyson, who was abducted from a parish in Yalgo, Burkina Faso in April, was found alive almost six months later. This is according to congregational leader of the Marianites, Sister Ann Lacour.
Details on the 87-year-old’s disappearance were not available in the early reports of her discovery. During the abduction, we’re told Tennyson was taken to an unknown destination by an unidentified armed man. The convent she was staying at with other religious women was then vandalized.
Tennyson had been stationed in Yalgo since 2014 after previously ministering to those in New Orleans. The Clarion Herald posted to their Facebook page that Sister Suellen Tennyson will eventually make it back to American soil.
“She is safe, she is on American soil, but not in America. She is safe. She was recovered (Monday) morning. We have spoken to her. She eventually will get back to the United States. She’s totally worn out,” said Sister Ann told the Clarion Herald. “I told her how much people love her, and she doesn’t have anything to worry about. I told her, ‘You are alive and safe. That’s all that matters.“
A statement form the State Department Office of Press Relations reveals that Tennyson will soon be reunite with loved ones:
“The United States is pleased to confirm the release of a U.S. citizen in Niger who had been held hostage in West Africa, and to share that this individual will soon be reunited with loved ones. It is the wish of the individual to remain private at this time, and we ask that all respect that wish. We want the American people to know that their safety and security is our highest priority, and the Biden Administration will continue to work aggressively – using a wide range of tools – until all Americans being unjustly held against their will are brought home.”
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