After she was released, Jean Cardinal Zerbo of Bamako told AFP, "We prayed a lot for her release. I thank the Malian authorities and the people of goodwill which made this release possible."
Sister Gloria, a Colombian national, also thanked “Dr. Iván Duque, President of Colombia, and the entire Colombian government, the Colombian ambassador to Italy, Dr. Jorge Mario, GAULA, the Bishops’ Conference, the bishops and priests, the mean and women religious, parish groups, committed laity, prayer groups."
The nun also thanked “the educational institutions, teaching and administrative staff, students and alumni, the congregation of Franciscan Sisters of Mary Immaculate, my family, all those people who prayed for me and made my liberation possible.’”
Armed men kidnapped Sister Gloria, a member of the Franciscan Sisters of Mary Immaculate, in Karangasso, about 90 miles south of San, Feb. 7, 2017. The men forced her to hand over the keys to the community's ambulance. The vehicle was later found abandoned. Three other sisters were present at their house but escaped.
According to the AP, a judge in the country charged four individuals in relation to the kidnapping in April 2017.
In July 201 Sister Gloria identified the group then holding her as Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin, a militant Islamist group in West Africa and the Maghreb.
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