Pope Leo XIV has issued a passionate appeal for the immediate release of more than 300 students, teachers, and church members abducted in what has become one of Nigeria’s largest mass kidnappings.
Speaking after the Angelus prayer, the Pope said he received the news “with immense sadness,” lamenting the kidnappings of priests, faithful, and schoolchildren. He expressed “deep sorrow, especially for the many young boys and girls kidnapped and for their anguished families,” and called for global prayers so that “churches and schools may always and everywhere remain places of safety and hope.”
The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) confirmed on Saturday that gunmen had seized hundreds of victims in separate attacks on two schools. On Monday, armed men invaded a secondary school in Kebbi State, abducting 25 girls. A second raid took place early Friday at St. Mary’s Co-educational School in Niger State, where the majority of the hostages were taken.
The Pope urged authorities and communities to act swiftly and peacefully to ensure the safe return of all captives, reiterating his “heartfelt appeal for the immediate release of the hostages.”
