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An 83-year-old American nun has been kidnapped from a convent in Burkina Faso where she was serving as a missionary. Sister Tennyson, a New Orleans native, was abducted in the middle of the night when 10 unknown individuals broke into the convent housing her. In a statement, Bishop Teophile Narè said “A group of unidentified gunmen broke into the sisters’ community in Yalgo and after vandalizing the rooms, sabotaging the community vehicle, they kidnapped Sister Tennyson. Let us also pray for her sisters, for the Congregation, as well as for the pastoral workers and the faithful of the parish of Yalgo. There are five religious women in the community who are currently in a state of shock. We have arranged for their transfer to Kaya for security reasons.”

The Diocese sister Tennyson was serving has previously been the target of several attacks attributed to armed jihadist groups. On May 12, 2019, the parish was attacked during mass in which a priest and five other individuals were executed.  In March 2019, another priest was kidnapped and is still missing to this day. Reports on the ground indicate that the group of men who kidnapped the nun are with an affiliate group of ISIS that has targeted the diocese previously. There’s been no word on the well-being of Sister Tennyson, though fears are growing she could be used in a propaganda video for execution.

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