By Adolf Washington
Bengaluru, September 6, 2019: Father Tom Uzhunnalil, a Salesian priest who spent 557 days in captivity in Yemen, on September 6 presented his autobiography to Archbishop Peter Machado of Bangalore.
The 59-year-old priest conveyed his gratitude to the people of the archdiocese for their prayers for his release.
Unidentified gunmen abducted him on March 4 2016, from a home for the elderly in Yemen’s southern port city of Aden, after killing 16 people, including four Missionaries of Charity sisters of Mother Teresa. He was then serving as chaplain to the Missionaries of Charity.
He was released on September 12, 2017, under intense international pressure
At the reception in Bengaluru, the Karnataka state capital, soon after the release, Vicar General Monsignor S Jayanathan represented the archdiocese.
Archbishop Machado expressed his joy on seeing Father Uzhunnalil and assured him of continued prayers.
Father Uzhunnalil was accompanied by Father M K George, rector of the provincial house, and provincial secretary Father Pereira Freddie.
The archbishop felicitated Father Uzhunnalil shortly before lunch. Financial administrator Father VM Gregory and Chancellor Father Arokiaraj Satis Kumar also greeted the Salesian priest, besides Father Jayanathan.
Father Uzhunnalil appeared grace-filled, calm and composed, and presented the archbishop “By the Grace of God,” his autobiography.
The review of the book says the autobiography reads as a ‘classical testimony to the truth that the Lord alive hears our prayers and that He would surely answer it in His own good time.’