To the kidnappers, fraternal love was a language they never understood, Narváez Argoti said.
She said that at her kidnapping, the fraternity she had felt in her missionary work vanished.
“Freedom, not only physical liberty, which allowed me to move without restrictions, became only a word, an immense longing. As time went by — and perhaps because of what I had previously experienced in continuous, loving, respectful, and kind contact with people of every religious denomination and all conditions — I realized that I had not only lost my own freedom but also my religious liberty,” Narváez Argoti narrated.
She added that on numerous instances she was singled out, beaten, and insulted for professing her Catholic faith.
The nun underwent adverse circumstances, including bad weather, daily abuse, humiliation, and deprivation of food and water.
In all these circumstances, her faith remained unmoved, she testified: “I never — not once — failed to thank God for allowing me to wake up and be alive amid all the difficulties and dangers: How could I not praise you, bless you and thank you, my God? For you have filled me with peace in the face of insults and mistreatment!”
Narváez Argoti was released from her captivity on Oct. 9, 2021, and about eight months after being set free she still prayed for the conversion of the souls of her captors.
This story was originally published on ACI Africa, CNA’s partner news agency in Africa, and has been adapted by CNA.
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