FILE PHOTO: The Vatican said in a statement that Francis met Sister Gloria Cecilia Narvaez in St. Peter's Basilica just before he celebrated Mass there to open a two-year worldwide consultation on the Catholic Church's future.
Image: REUTERS/David Cerny/File Photo
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Pope Francis on Sunday met a Colombian nun who was freed after being kidnapped by Islamist militants in Mali four years ago.

The Vatican said in a statement that Francis met Sister Gloria Cecilia Narvaez in St. Peter's Basilica just before he celebrated Mass there to open a two-year worldwide consultation on the Catholic Church's future.

The Mali presidency announced her release on Saturday but the timing and other details were not clear.

Kidnapping has been a lucrative source of cash for Islamist groups in West Africa's Sahel region, where they are waging an expanding insurgency against national armies, French forces and UN peacekeepers.

Reuters


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