Burkina Faso: Elderly nun kidnapped

Sr Suellen with colleagues. Image Fides

Source: Fides

An 83 year-old American nun, Sister Suellen Tennyson, was kidnapped last Tuesday in the parish of Yalgo, in northern Burkina Faso.

Bishop Teophile Narè, Bishop of Kaya said: "A group of unidentified gunmen broke into the sisters' community in Yalgo and, after vandalizing the rooms, sabotaging the community vehicle they attempted to take away, kidnapped Sister Tennyson. Let us also pray for her sisters, for the Congregation, as well as for the pastoral workers and the faithful of the parish of Yalgo. There are five religious women in the community who are currently in a state of shock. We have arranged for their transfer to Kaya for security reasons."

Sister Suellen from the Congregation of the Marianite Sisters of the Holy Cross has been serving at the Holy Family of Nazareth Parish in Yalgo, since 2014, and was in charge of a health centre.

This is the first time a nun has been kidnapped in Burkina Faso since the start of the security crisis in 2015, which left 2,000 dead and 1,800,000 displaced. The Diocese of Kaya had already been the target of several attacks attributed to armed terror groups. On May 12, 2019, the parish of Dablo was attacked during Mass, during which Father Simeon Niampa and five other faithful were killed. In March 2019, Father Joël Yougbaré, parish priest of Djibo, was kidnapped, and is still missing.

At least five other kidnap victims are also unaccounted for. They include journalist Olivier Dubois, who announced his kidnapping in a video posted on social media on 5 May last year; NGO worker German Jörg Lange, kidnapped on 11 April, 2018 and American Christian NGO worker October abducted in 2016. 82-year-old Australian surgeon Arthur Kenneth Elliott was kidnapped in Burkina Faso, along with his wife Jocelyn, in January 2016 who was released the following month. Iulian Ghergut, a Romanian security officer, was abducted on April 4, 2015 from a manganese mine in northern Burkina Faso.

Sister Ann Lacour, superior of the Marianist Congregation of the United States in Covington, Louisiana said: "We are praying for Sister Suellen's safety and for her release. We also pray for all those who have been victims of these groups, especially for our sisters who witnessed the vandalism and kidnapping. We are in contact with government leaders who have promised to keep us informed as they learn more".

The Archbishop of New Orleans, Mgr Gregory M Aymond, said: "For many years, Sister Suellen has served the people of the Archdiocese of New Orleans with great joy. Today we express our sadness and dismay at her kidnapping and we join in prayer for her safe return".