Ten years after four Missionaries of Charity members were killed in Yemen, Church leaders in the Gulf are remembering their witness and renewing calls for peace as tensions continue to grip the wider region.
To mark the anniversary of the March 4, 2016, attack in Aden, Bishop Paolo Martinelli, Apostolic Vicar of Southern Arabia, presided over a commemorative Mass at St. Joseph’s Cathedral in Abu Dhabi, inviting the faithful to remember the sisters’ sacrifice and pray for peace.
“The testimony of the Missionaries of Charity Sisters killed in Aden continues to nourish the life of our Church,” Bishop Paolo said.
“Their example challenges us to live our faith each day with joy and commitment, confident that their sacrifice will bear fruits of peace,” the prelate added.
Photo credit: Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia
The bishop said commemorating the sisters during a period of renewed instability in the region carries particular meaning.
Celebrating the anniversary at a time when the Gulf region is experiencing serious conflict “is a source of hope,” he said. “Looking to them, we feel encouraged to be, in this land, builders of peace.”
On March 4, 2016, armed men stormed the compound of the Home for the Aged in Aden run by the Missionaries of Charity, the congregation founded by Mother Teresa.
The four sisters — Sr. Judith (Anastasia Kanini) of Kenya, Sr. Anselm of India, and Sr. Reginette and Sr. Marguerite of Rwanda — were killed along with twelve lay collaborators serving at the Home for the Aged in Aden.
Sister Sally, the superior of the community, survived the attack after hiding from the assailants, while Salesian priest Fr. Tom Uzhunnalil, who lived in the compound, was kidnapped and released in September 2017.
Two days after the killings, Pope Francis referred to the sisters as “martyrs of today” during the Angelus prayer, recalling their sacrifice before the universal Church.
Writing on the anniversary, Bishop Paul Hinder, former Apostolic Vicar of Southern Arabia, said the sisters and their companions were killed “while serving Christ in the poorest of the poor.”
“It is right that we remember with gratitude the four sisters and their companions who were killed while serving Christ in the poorest of the poor,” he wrote.
Despite the violence that has marked Yemen in recent years, including the country’s prolonged civil war, the Missionaries of Charity remain present in the country, continuing their service among vulnerable people regardless of religion or nationality.
“The Sisters of Mother Teresa are still present in Yemen, serving the poorest without distinction,” Bishop Paolo said. “Through their witness we are reminded that the charity of Christ overcomes every barrier.”
Remembering the victims, Bishop Hinder said their sacrifice continues to challenge Christians to live out the Gospel in service and peace.
“We remember all of them with gratitude for their witness and ask for their intercession, that we ourselves may not fail in giving a living testimony of love, which is the only path that leads to peace,” he said.
