Rwandan and Kenyan Nuns among Missionaries of Charity Slain in Yemen, Pope Terms Massacre ‘senseless and diabolical’

CANAA || By Father Don Bosco Onyalla, Nairobi || 07 March 2016

Two nuns from Rwanda and one from Kenya are among the four Missionaries of Charity killed by gunmen in the port city of Aden in Yemen on Friday, an attack that left 16 people slain according to reports from local authorities.

“Three men entered the care giving home run by the Missionaries of Charity and fired at the gathering as they were preparing breakfast at 8:30 am. Four nuns died in the attack,” the spokesperson of Missionaries of Charity, Sunita Kumar, has been quoted as describing the attack at the old-age home.

The Missionary Order identified those killed as 44-year old Sr. M. Marguerite and 32-year old Sr. M. Reginette both from Rwanda, Sr. M. Judith from Kenya aged 41 and Sr. M. Anselm, 57, from Jharkhand, India.

According to sources from the religious order, Yemen security officials, and witnesses, the gunmen surrounded the home for the old people and entered the building on the pretext they wanted to visit their mothers at the facility.

The gunmen then moved from room to room, handcuffing the victims before shooting them in the head.

The congregation's spokesperson has explained that the attackers ransacked the convent, destroying statues, the tabernacle and the crucifix in the chapel.

A nun who survived and was rescued by locals said that she hid inside a fridge in a storeroom after hearing a Yemeni guard shouting, "Run, run."

Other victims of the massacre included volunteer helpers, some of whom were from Ethiopia.

There have not been any reports of harm to any of the nursing home's elderly residents.

Salesian Father Thomas Uzhunnalil who hails from the Indian province of Bangaluru and was staying in the convent was reported missing after the attack.

It is feared the priest may have been kidnaped by the gunmen.

The congregation's spokesperson has confirmed that Missionaries of Charity at their headquarters in Kolkata are praying for the deceased sisters and workers and for those whose lives remain in danger.

"They are also praying for mercy for the gunmen and peace in Yemen," Kumar has been quoted as saying.

On Sunday, Pope Francis expressed his closeness to the Missionaries of Charity following the killing of four of its members.

Departing from his prepared text, the Pope condemned the attack and declared the nuns murdered during the attack “the martyrs of our day,” saying “they were killed by their attackers, but also by the globalization of indifference.”

“Their names do not appear on the front page of the newspapers, but they gave their blood for the church,” Pope Francis said about the three African and one Indian nuns killed in Yemen and added, “I pray for them and for the other persons killed in the attack, and for their family members.”

He prayed that Mother Teresa “may accompany into paradise these her daughters, martyrs of charity, and intercede for peace and the sacred respect of human life.”

On Saturday, a message signed by the Vatican Secretary of State, Pietro Cardinal Parolin, said the Holy Father “sends the assurance of his prayers for the dead and his spiritual closeness to their families and to all affected from this act of senseless and diabolical violence.”

The full text of the message is below 

His Holiness Pope Francis was shocked and profoundly saddened to learn of the killing of four Missionaries of Charity and twelve others at a home for the elderly in Aden. He sends the assurance of his prayers for the dead and his spiritual closeness to their families and to all affected from this act of senseless and diabolical violence.  He prays that this pointless slaughter will awaken consciences, lead to a change of heart, and inspire all parties to lay down their arms and take up the path of dialogue. In the name of God, he calls upon all parties in the present conflict to renounce violence, and to renew their commitment to the people of Yemen, particularly those most in need, whom the Sisters and their helpers sought to serve.  Upon everyone suffering from this violence, the Holy Father invokes God’s blessing, and in a special ways he extends to the Missionaries of Charity his prayerful sympathy and solidarity. 

Pietro Cardinal Parolin, Secretary of State

It is still unclear who carried out the killings. However, it is suspected the gunmen were members of either al-Qaida or the Islamic State.

The Roman Catholic religious Congregation, which was founded by Mother Teresa of Calcutta in 1950, has described the attack and killing of the four nuns as the worst act of violence it has suffered since its establishment.

There were around 80 residents living at the home.

Aden descended into lawlessness after a Saudi-led coalition recaptured the city from Shiite Houthi rebels last summer.