A Catholic priest who was kidnapped by militants 18 months ago in Yemen has been rescued.
Fr Tom Uzhunnalil was freed on Tuesday. He is staying with a Salesian community in Rome for a few days before going home to India.
He met Pope Francis on Thursday morning.
At the meeting Francis embraced and encouraged him, assuring him he would continue to pray for him as he had done during his captivity.
Tom thanked Francis, saying he had “prayed every day for him, offering his own suffering for his mission and for the good of the Church.”
In discussions about his ordeal, Tom said although he was not able to celebrate the Eucharist, every day, he repeated all the words of the celebration in his heart.
The L’Osservatore Romano report of the meeting said the Pope was “visibly moved, and blessed him.”
Another report said: “The Holy See fervently thanks all those who worked for his release, and especially His Majesty the Sultan of Oman and the competent authorities of the Sultanate”.
Tom has promised to continue to pray for all who had supported him spiritually and says he remembers in particular the four sisters of the Missionaries of Charity and the twelve people killed at the time of his abduction.
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