MOTHERS OF FREED HOSTAGES CREDIT HIS HOLINESS & BLESSED JOHN PAUL II THE GREAT'S INTERCESSION
Bogotá, Colombia, Apr 4, 2012 / 05:09 pm (EWTN News)
Several mothers of the 10 hostages freed by a Colombian rebel group after almost fourteen years in captivity said their sons were liberated thanks to the intercession of Blessed John Paul II.
The mothers told a local Colombian TV station that when the late pontiff’s relics were brought to the country last January, they went to venerate them and to pray for the release of their sons who were kidnapped by the Marxist rebel group FARC in 1998.
The relic consists of a vile of blood taken from Blessed John Paul II when he hospitalized before his death in 2005.
The release of the ten hostages took place on April 2, the seventh anniversary of Blessed John Paul II’s death and the mothers said they plan to put their testimonies in writing and send them to the Vatican.
Pope Wojtyla visited Colombia in July of 1986. During his welcoming ceremony at El Dorado Airport on July 1, he prayed that “Christ, the Prince of Peace, would bless all the efforts Colombia is carrying out to achieve the peace it longs for.”
According to Caracol Radio, initial medical examinations have shown that most of the freed hostages are suffering from vision problems and weight loss but that their general condition is good.
In a statement issued on April 2, president of the Colombian Bishops’ Conference, Archbishop Ruben Salazar, voiced gratitude for their release.
“In the context of the celebration of Easter, which is the feast of life, the bishops of Colombia unite in the joy that fills those who have been freed from their captivity, their families and friends, and all Colombians who do not lose hope that all those kidnapped will be give back their freedom.”
The Colombian bishops urged all the rebel groups still holding hostages to “release them as soon as possible so that the atrocious crime of kidnapping will disappear from our country and profound respect for the rights of each and every Colombian will be strengthened, as the indispensable foundation for building a just and fraternal society.”
They also invited “the Catholics of Colombia to live intensely the celebration of the mystery of Easter as a passage from death to life, from slavery to freedom, from enmity to brotherhood, from division to unity.”
